- Date
- March 24, 2021, 12:19 local (17:19 UTC)
- Place
- Laredo, TX
- Injuries
- 7 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9177MCessna 207A
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration; San Antonio
- FAA report
- 20210324005729A
- Case key
- 102807
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 control the airplane during the landing flare, 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, while landing, the airplane encountered an “updraft” which “lifted” the airplane. The airplane subsequently came down and made a hard bounce. The pilot corrected, flared a second time, and landed the airplane. During the landing rollout, as he released back pressure, the propeller struck the runway. The pilot shut the airplane down, exited, and noticed the nose landing gear was gone. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the personal flight stated that the airplane encountered an “updraft” during a landing flare, which he compensated for, but the airplane bounced twice and experienced a hard landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction/failure that would have precluded normal airplane operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9177M
- Reported as
- Cessna 207A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20700677
- Built
- 1980
- Airframe hours
- 1,621.8
- Engine
- Continental IO-520F, 300 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- Aircraft Guaranty Corporation Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · February 9, 2021
- Departed
- MMAN · Monterrey, OF
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- VFR/IFR
- Airport
- LRD · Laredo International Airport, runway 18R, 8,743 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B, Auto-pilot
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
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 1, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 451 total · 210 as pilot in command · 136 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.69 inHg
- Observed at
- LRD
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 13, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.3 MB 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.