- Date
- August 6, 1997, 14:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Bainbridge, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N124SPCessna 310K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970806021429A
- Case key
- 3883
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 properly perform the soft landing procedure, leading to 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
After receiving a ferry permit with the stipulation that the landing gear remain extended, the pilot took off for a short flight. Enroute he encountered some turbulence, and was concerned about the condition of the landing gear. The pilot stated he decided to make a soft landing at the destination airport. As he was over the runway, he pulled back the power, and the airplane sunk to the ground at a high rate. After the hard landing, the right tire blew, and the right propeller struck the runway.
Factual narrative
On August 6, 1997, about 1415 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310K, N124SP, landed hard at the Decatur County Industrial Airpark (BGE), Bainbridge, Georgia. The ferry flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The commercial pilot sustained no injuries and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight departed Tallahassee Regional Airport, Tallahassee, Florida, at 1400.
The pilot reported that, on August 6, 1997, he obtained a ferry permit from the Orlando Flight Standards District Office, for a flight from Tallahassee to Bainbridge. The permit had a restriction to fly with the gear extended. The pilot stated he encountered light turbulence around the Bainbridge area. He stated that he was concerned about his landing gear and entered a downwind for runway 27 to set up for a slow approach for a soft landing. He encountered light turbulence on final, subsequently landing hard on the runway. The right tire blew and the right propeller impacted the ground. He taxied off of the runway and shut down the engines. He then observed the right propeller damage. The tire was replaced and the airplane was towed to the tie down area.
According to the mechanic who inspected the airplane, the right wing, landing gear well, and right fuselage all had substantial damage. The left wing, left nacelle, and right propeller were also damaged.
The FAA inspector stated that the pilot was attempting to make a soft touchdown on the runway. When the airplane was over the runway, the pilot reduced the power all the way, and the airplane "fell like a rock".
Aircraft
- Registration
- N124SP
- Reported as
- Cessna 310K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310K0144
- Airframe hours
- 3,781
- Engine
- Continental IO-470, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Pierce M Godwin
- Registered owner
- Consolidated Air Services, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1993 · 73 hours before
- Departed
- TLH · Tallahassee, FL
- Destination
- BGE · GA
- Airport
- BGE · Decatur Co. Ind. Airpark, runway 27, 5,002 × 150 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
- 55
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 773 total · 323 in this make and model · 773 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 79 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TLH, 20 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.