- Date
- April 14, 1994, 10:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Barnwell, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N61990Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 19, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940414009959A
- Case key
- 3380
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's failure to flare properly which 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
According to the pilot, a personal urgency forced her to divert to an airport short of the destination. She also stated that the approach airspeed and the height over the runway, were excessive. The airplane touched down hard and bounced several times. Examination of the airplane revealed that the engine firewall was buckled.
Factual narrative
On April 14, 1994, at 1015 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N61990, landed hard on runway 4 at Barnwell County Airport at Barnwell, South Carolina. The personal flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91, with a visual flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage; the pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight departed Gastonia, North Carolina, at 0900 hours.
Because of a personal urgency, the pilot diverted to an airport short of the destination airport. The pilot stated that the altitude and airspeeds were excessive for the landing. The airplane touch down hard, bounced and porpoised several times before she stopped the airplane on the runway. When the airplane was examined several days later, it was determined that in addition to the nose gear damage, the engine firewall was buckled. There were no aircraft problems reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61990
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17264941
- Airframe hours
- 4,517
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Cloninger, Richard L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 21, 1994 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- OA6 · Gastonia, NC
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- BNL · Barnwell County, runway 4, 5,122 × 68 ft, asphalt
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 105 total · 11 in this make and model · 45 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRE, 45 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.