ATL03LA067

The pilot stated he made a night landing to runway 30 without runway landing lights. The airplane touched down 2,390 feet from the approach end of the runway, bounced, and touched down three more times before going into the overrun and colliding with several trees. The sod runway is 2,980 feet long.

On March 23, 2003, about 1853 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172M, N13591, registered to BCN LLC, operated by a private pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with trees on the departure end of the runway during a night landing at Hodges Airpark, Savannah, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and one passenger received serious injuries. The flight originated from Valdosta, Georgia, on March 23, 2003, at 1835.

The pilot stated he could not remember his departure time from Valdosta, Georgia. According to Savannah Approach Control the pilot contacted them at 1835 and requested flight following. Upon arrival in the Savannah area, he cancelled flight following when he had his destination airport in sight. He planned his approach to runway 30, which does not have runway lights. The pilot stated that he does not remember anything concerning the accident sequence, but remembered turning on final approach and talking to emergency personnel while being placed in the ambulance after the accident. The pilot stated he did not experience any mechanical problems before the accident.

Examination of the accident site by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed the airplane touched down 2, 390 feet from the approach end of the runway. The airplane bounced three times, and touched down 2,470, feet, 2,512 feet, and 2,552 feet from the approach end of the runway before going into the overrun and colliding with several trees. The airplane collided with trees 425 from the last touchdown on the sod runway surface. The sod runway is 2,980 feet long. The airplane sustained structural damage to the right wing, fuselage, and empennage. Cessna 172 landing performance data showed that a normal landing roll requires approximately 590 feet of runway surface.