- Date
- January 8, 2002, 17:26 local (23:26 UTC)
- Place
- Bellewood, MS
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N48031Cessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Jackson FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020108000059A
- Case key
- 54046
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 pilot misjudged the proper touched down point and collided with the ground short of the runway during an attempted 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 pilot established an approach to land on runway 12 at the private airstrip where he previously departed. During the attempted landing, the airplane touched down left and short of the runway surface. The airplane came to rest 30 feet left of the turf runway. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the flight. The post-accident examination of the airplane also failed to reveal a mechanical problem with the airplane. The wreckage examination also revealed structural damage to the airframe.
Factual narrative
On January 8, 2002, at about 1726 central standard time, a Cessna 170B, N48031, registered to the pilot, collided with the ground during an attempted landing at a private sod airstrip near Bellewood, Mississippi. The personal flight was operated by the pilot 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 was substantially damaged, and the commercial rated pilot received minor injuries. The flight's exact departure time from the private airstrip in Belzoni, Mississippi, was not determined.
The pilot established an approach to land on runway 12 at the private airstrip where he previously departed. During the attempted landing, the airplane touched down left and short of the runway surface. After colliding with the ground, the airplane moved along the ground, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest 30 feet left of the turf runway.
The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the flight. The post-accident examination of the airplane also failed to reveal a mechanical problem with the airplane. Examination of the accident site confirmed a ground collision several feet short of the runway. The wreckage examination also revealed structural damage to the airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48031
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27095
- Airframe hours
- 10,700
- Engine
- Continental O-300, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 2001
- Departed
- Belzoni, MS
- Airport
- NONE · private, runway 12, 3,000 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 28
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 581 total · 310 in this make and model · 27 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- GWO, 15 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 25, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.