- Date
- December 21, 1999, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Melbourne, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8182ECessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 30, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991221042399A
- Case key
- 48432
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The certified flight instructor's improper touchdown flare that resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight instructor said they had completed four touch-and-go landings, and they were attempting a fifth landing when the airplane touched down hard on the runway. The flight instructor also reported that no mechanical problems with the airplane. The subsequent examination of the airframe disclosed that the engine firewall and surrounding structure had sustained substantial damage. The airplane examination also failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure.
Factual narrative
On December 21, 1999, at 1130 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172N, N8182E, collided with the ground during an attempted landing at Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida. The instructional flight was operated by Merritt Island Air Service under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The certified flight instructor and the student pilot were not injured. The instructional flight departed Merritt Island, Florida, at 0900.
According to the flight instructor, they had completed four touch-and-go landings, and they were attempting a fifth landing when the airplane touched down hard on the runway. The flight instructor also reported no mechanical problems with the airplane.
The subsequent examination of the airframe disclosed that the engine firewall and surrounding structure had sustained substantial damage. The airplane examination also failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8182E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17272148
- Airframe hours
- 2,227
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-HZAD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Merritt Island Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 17, 1999 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- COI · Merritt Island, FL
- Airport
- runway 9R
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 23
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 490 total · 29 in this make and model · 27 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MLB, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.