# NTSB CHI01LA289: Cessna 177, N2949X, South Haven, MI, August 14, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 14, 2001, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: South Haven, MI - Coordinates: 42.399475, -86.269241 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.3995&lon=-86.2692&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration Grand Rapids FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 53147 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI01LA289 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53147/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA289 ## Probable cause The pilot not maintaining aircraft control during the landing. Factors to the accident were the pilot not performing a go-around and the ditch. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - go-around - not performed, pilot in command (contributing factor) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - terrain condition - ditch (contributing factor) ## Analysis The pilot reported that during the landing, at approximately five feet above the ground, there was a "strong crosswind gust." The pilot reported that after he encountered the gust of wind he, "... should have applied full power and initiated a go-around." The pilot stated that the airplane departed the right side of the runway and impacted a ditch. A witness to the accident reported that the accident airplane was "unstable" during the landing approach. The witness stated that after the airplane touchdown it began to bounce. The witness reported that after the third bounce the pilot lost control of the airplane, the airplane departed the prepared runway surface and impacted the ditch. The witness stated that the wind velocity at the time of the accident was approximately, "... 7 to 8 knots, gust inbetween [in between]." At 1553 a weather observation station located 15 nautical miles to the southwest reported the wind direction and speed as 350 degrees magnetic at 8 knots. ## Factual narrative On August 14, 2001, at 1600 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 177, N2949X, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during an on-ground collision with a ditch while landing on runway 04 (4,300 feet by 75 feet, dry/asphalt) at the South Haven Area Regional Airport, South Haven, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant, reported no injuries. The flight departed the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH), Benton Harbor, Michigan, at 1500. According to the pilot, during the landing, at approximately five feet above the ground, there was a "strong crosswind gust." The pilot reported that after he encountered the gust of wind he, "... should have applied full power and initiated a go-around." The pilot stated that the airplane departed the right side of the runway and impacted a ditch. A witness to the accident, who was also the airport manager, reported that the accident airplane had attempted to land on runway 04. The witness reported that the accident airplane was "unstable" during the landing approach. The witness stated that after the touchdown the airplane began to bounce. The witness reported that after the third bounce the pilot lost control of the airplane, the airplane departed the prepared runway surface and impacted the ditch. The witness stated that the wind velocity at the time of the accident was approximately, "... 7 to 8 knots, gust inbetween [in between]." A weather observation station located at BEH, 15 nautical miles to the southwest, reported the weather at 1553 as: Date: 08/14/2001 Time: 1553 Wind: 350 degrees magnetic at 8 knots Visibility: 10 statute miles Sky Condition: Sky Clear Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius Dew Point: 11 degrees Celsius Altimeter Setting: 30.10 inches-of-mercury ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2949X](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2949X-2013-07-15), registration cancelled 2013-07-15, S/N 17700349, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 177 - Registry model: [Cessna 177](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-177) (registry code 2073704) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17700349 - Airframe hours: 5667.7 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A3A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Fred R. Kuechenmeister - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 13, 2001 - Departed: BEH, Benton Harbor, MI - Destination: 0D1, South Haven, MI - Airport: 0D1, South Haven Area Regional, runway 040, 4,300 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review May 8, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 174 total, 29 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 350° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 30.10 inHg - Observed at: BEH, 15 nm away ## 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 20010814021419A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010814021419A), Aug 14, 2001: Cessna 177, South Haven, MI, No damage. (-23) Pilot landed hard on rwy 04 at South Haven, MI. After third bounce aircraft exited runway on right side and went through drain ditch. Both main gear were… 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.