CEN23LA082

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 182R · Las Animas, CO · January 14, 2023

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedFinal report
Date
January 14, 2023, 11:15 local (18:15 UTC)
Place
Las Animas, CO
Injuries
3 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N9393HCessna 182R
Defining event
Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of control in flight
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
FAA FSDO
FAA report
20230114001049A
Case key
106585

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 student pilot’s loss of control during approach for landing and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the approach and delay in ensuring a go-around was performed at the onset of a stall warning.

Findings · 5

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.

Performance/control parametersAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 182R: 3 casesAll aircraft: 1,269 casesProbable cause
Action: delayed actionPersonnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilotCessna 182R: 2 casesAll aircraft: 894 casesProbable cause
Action: lack of actionPersonnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilotCessna 182R: 2 casesAll aircraft: 792 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: airspeedAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 182R: 3 casesAll aircraft: 1,681 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilotCessna 182R: 11 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause

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 airplane was on a visual approach for landing during an instructional flight when the stall warning sounded as it approached the runway threshold. The flight instructor told the student pilot to add engine power to avoid a hard landing. She added engine power, the airplane veered left, and then bounced on the runway while the stall warning continued to sound. The flight instructor then told her to add full engine power. She added full engine power and the airplane continued to veer left and did not climb. The airplane settled into a field adjacent to the runway and sustained substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. The application of engine power at a low airspeed would have necessitated greater control input to counter torque effects from the added power. The stall warning annunciation during the approach to landing was consistent with an unstabilized approach, during which an immediate go-around should have been instructed to the student pilot or performed by the flight instructor. The flight instructor stated that the airplane should have attained a climb rate and attributed the lack of climb rate to an engine problem. The student pilot, however, attributed the lack of airplane climb rate to its low airspeed and high angle of attack during the go-around. A postaccident engine examination and engine run revealed no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Factual narrative

On January 14, 2023, at 1115 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182R, N9393H, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Las Animas, Colorado. The flight instructor, student pilot, and a passenger were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The airplane was on a turn to the final approach leg for a visual approach and landing at the destination airport, when the flight instructor told the student pilot to watch out for several powerlines left of the airplane. He thought that it startled the student pilot because she began to increase airplane pitch. He then told her that she pitched up too high and to reduce pitch and add some engine power. As the airplane approached the runway threshold, the stall warning horn began to sound and, as the airplane crossed over the runway numbers, he told her to add more engine power to avoid a hard landing. She added engine power, the airplane veered left, and then bounced on the runway while the stall warning continued to sound. He then told her to add full engine power. She added full engine power and the airplane continued to veer left and did not climb. The airplane was airborne when it hit a 4-foot-high fence and then settled into a field adjacent to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage that included damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. The flight instructor stated that the airplane should have attained a climb rate and attributed the lack of climb rate to an engine problem. The student pilot, however, attributed the lack of airplane climb rate to its low airspeed and high angle of attack during the go-around. A postaccident engine examination and engine run revealed no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Aircraft

Registration
N9393H
Reported as
Cessna 182R
Category
Airplane
Serial number
18267942
Built
1981
Airframe hours
2,139
Engine
Continental O-470-U, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Registered owner
C&C Specialty Inc
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · September 23, 2022
Departed
PUB · Pueblo, CO
Destination
Same as departure
Flight plan
VFR
Airport
7V9 · Bent County Airport, runway 26, 3,870 × 40 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Stall warning system, Handheld GPS, ADS-B

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 · 2

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Flight instructor
Age
67
Injuries
None
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
July 22, 2021
Seat
Right
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
3,841 total · 2,172 in this make and model · 3,666 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Role
Student pilot
Age
48
Injuries
None
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Seat
Left
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
85 total · 85 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
290° at 6 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
46 °F, dew point 21 °F
Altimeter
29.87 inHg
Observed at
LHX, 13 nm away

Docket · 8

The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 28, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8.8 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.

Other investigations on N9393H · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.