# NTSB CEN14LA489: Gallager John C Glasair, N4PX, Highland Heights, OH, September 5, 2014 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 5, 2014, 15:40 local (19:40 UTC) - Place: Highland Heights, OH - Coordinates: 41.564998, -81.486389 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5650&lon=-81.4864&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 11, 2015 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - NTSB case key (mKey): 90043 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN14LA489 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90043/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90043 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14LA489 ## Probable cause The pilot’s loss of aircraft control during landing, and his failure to maintain directional control. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Gallager John C GLASAIR I TD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md?model=05655MW), [All aircraft, 1,386 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Gallager John C GLASAIR I TD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=05655MW), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Landing: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Gallager John C GLASAIR I TD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=05655MW), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) ## Analysis The airplane landed hard, bounced, touched down and bounced again, then veered left off the runway and ground looped. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On September 5, 2014, about 1550 eastern daylight time, a Gallager Glasair I TD, N4PX, was substantially damaged while landing at Cuyahoga County Airport (KCGF), Highland Heights, Ohio. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The airplane had a pending registration and was being operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The cross-country flight originated from Danbury Municipal Airport (KDXR), Danbury, Connecticut, about 1311, and was en route to KCGF before continuing on to Farmington Hills, Michigan.According to the pilot's accident report, the airplane landed hard on runway 24, bounced, touched down and bounced again, then veered left off the runway and ground looped. He reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane prior to or during the accident. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors, there was extensive damage to the composite fuselage and wings. The pilot reported the landing gear, wheels, wingtips, and propeller blades to be damaged, along with dented skin and small punctured holes in the skin. The pilot reported he had accrued 396 total flight hours, of which 3 hours were in the airplane make and model. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4PX](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4PX), registered now, S/N 188 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GALLAGER JOHN C GLASAIR (I TD) - Registry model: [Gallager John C GLASAIR I TD](https://openairdocs.org/model/gallager-john-c-glasair-i-td) (registry code 05655MW) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (registry code 17019, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 188 - Year built: 1991 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-A1B 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Arthur A. Green III - Registered owner: Arthur A. Green III - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: 100 hour, March 12, 2014 - Departed: KDXR, Danbury, CT - Destination: KCGF, HighlandHeights, OH - Airport: KCGF, Cuyahoga County, runway 24, 5,102 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review November 12, 2011; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 396 total, 3 in this make and model, 298 as pilot in command, 16 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 210° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,000 ft broken - Temperature: 91 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: KCGF ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20140905015869A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140905015869A), Sep 5, 2014: Gallager John C GLASAIR I TD, Richmond Height, OH, Substantial damage. Airman states that the landing approach was normal, approach speed between 80 and 90 knots, with a wind from the left side of the runway. The airman kept the… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 12, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90043. 448 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 448 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418920&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.