- Date
- December 19, 2022, 19:15 local (Dec 20, 2022, 01:15 UTC)
- Place
- Pocahantas, IA · POH Airport
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2930JCessna 150G
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20221219020449A
- Case key
- 106625
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 landing flare which resulted in a bounced landing and the nose landing gear collapsing. Contributing to the accident was the airplane's encounter with adverse weather conditions which led to structural icing that affected flight characteristics and obscured the pilot's vision. Also contributing to the accident were the self-induced and external pressures that influenced the pilot’s decision to initiate and continue the flight.
Findings · 6
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 non-instrument rated private pilot reported that, during a night cross-country flight, the airplane encountered ice that began to accumulate on the windshield and obscured the pilot's vision. The pilot reported that during landing he had no pitch control, the airplane landed hard, and bounced. On the third bounce, the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest upright on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated in his report that he allowed external factors to influence his decision making related to the flight. He noted that he wanted to make it back home for the Christmas holiday and that he had already missed a day of work. He also stated that he did not obtain updated weather information and that if he had he may have made the decision to not start the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2930J
- Reported as
- Cessna 150G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15065730
- Built
- 1966
- Airframe hours
- 4,500
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2022
- Departed
- KSAZ · Staples, MN
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- POH · Pocahontas Muni, runway 30, 4,100 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 20
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 9, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 125 total · 25 in this make and model · 53 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 900 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KFOD, 24 nm away
- METAR
- KFOD 200056Z AUTO 31007KT 9SM -SN OVC009 M03/M04 A3027 RMK AO2 SNE22B40 CIG 006V011 SLP284 P0000
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 20, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 23.1 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.