- Date
- February 21, 2011, 19:10 local (Feb 22, 2011, 01:10 UTC)
- Place
- Romeoville, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N119RSCessna 310Q
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report June 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA-DPA-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110221003839A
- Case key
- 78406
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 maintain adequate airspeed during the approach/landing to compensate for the ice accumulated on the airframe which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that she checked the weather prior to departing on the cross country flight and it appeared that an area of icing had cleared out of the area near the destination airport. While descending through 4,000 feet near the destination, the airplane began to pick up ice quickly. She advised the air traffic controller and cycled the deice boots several times. She reported that she was unable to determine how much ice was accumulating on the airplane and she made the landing approach using normal approach speeds. The airplane touched down hard resulting in substantial damage to the internal structure of the left wing. She reported that after the landing ice was visible along the leading edge of the wings. She stated that she should have maintained a higher airspeed during the approach and landing to prevent the accident.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported she checked the weather prior to departing on the cross country flight and it appeared that an area of icing had cleared out of the area near the destination airport. While descending through 4,000 feet near the destination, the airplane began to pick up ice quickly. The pilot advised air traffic control and cycled the deice boots several times. The pilot reported she was unable to determine how much ice was accumulating on the airplane and she made the landing approach using "normal" approach speeds. The airplane touched down hard during the landing resulting in substantial damage to the internal structure of the left wing. The pilot reported that after the landing ice was visible along the leading edge of the wings. She stated she should have maintained a higher airspeed during the approach and landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N119RS
- Reported as
- Cessna 310Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310Q0906
- Airframe hours
- 5,962
- Engines
- Cont Motor IO-520-E7B, 300 horsepower, reciprocatingCont Motor IO-520-E7B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Blatti Aviation
- Registered owner
- Blatti Charles A Jr
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 15, 2010 · 60 hours before
- Departed
- PHN · Port Huron, MI
- Destination
- LOT · Romeoville, IL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LOT · Lewis University, runway 09, 5,697 × 75 ft
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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 15, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,654 total · 512 in this make and model · 6,492 as pilot in command · 97 in the last 90 days · 43 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 90° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- LOT
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 28, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 411 KB 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.