# NTSB DEN03TA082: Cessna 182R, N9849H, Boulder, CO, May 17, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Final report - Date: May 17, 2003, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Boulder, CO - Coordinates: 40.019699, -105.25003 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.0197&lon=-105.2500&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 57064 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN03TA082 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57064/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN03TA082 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing flare/touchdown which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the pilot's improper flair. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, landing - flare/touchdown - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - flare - improper, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - recovery from bounced landing - performed, pilot in command - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The pilot stated that the winds were "approximately 5 mph out of the east." With full flaps and an airspeed of 70 knots, he set up for an approach to runway 08. As they passed over the threshold, the airplane dropped approximately 25 feet and hit the runway. When the airplane bounced, he applied full power to regain control, landed on the runway and taxied to the parking area. He said he never heard the stall warning horn and didn't feel any change in the wind. The impact with the runway collapsed the nose landing gear, and buckled the firewall. ## Factual narrative On May 17, 2003, at 1600 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182R, N9849H, owned and operated by Civil Air Patrol Inc., was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Boulder Municipal Airport (1V5), Boulder, Colorado. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for this cross-country flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Boulder at 1500. The pilot stated that the winds were "approximately 5 mph out of the east." With full flaps and an airspeed of 70 knots, he set up for an approach to runway 08. As they passed over the threshold, the airplane dropped approximately 25 feet and hit the runway. When the airplane bounced, he applied full power to regain control, landed on the runway and taxied to the parking area. He said he never heard the stall warning horn and didn't feel any change in the wind. The impact with the runway collapsed the nose landing gear, and buckled the firewall. No damage to the propeller was noted. One witness stated that the airplane appeared to be in a nose high attitude on final approach. At approximately 15 to 20 feet above the runway, the "descent was momentarily halted," after which, the airplane "quickly" descended in a "mush" to the runway. The airplane touched down in a nose high attitude with both main landing gear and then the nose landing gear. The airplane "bounced" back into the air, then landed and taxied to the parking area under its own power. At 1547, the reported weather at Boulder Municipal Airport was, wind, 130 degrees at 12 knots; visibility, 40 statute miles; sky condition, few at 090, broken at 250 feet; temperature, 28 degrees C.; dew point, 06 degrees C.; altimeter setting, 29.87. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9849H](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9849H), registered now, S/N 18268068, built 1981 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182R - Registry model: [Cessna 182R](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182r) (registry code 2072731) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18268068 - Airframe hours: 4615.7 - Engines: Continental 0470017B 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Other work use, Part 91 - Registered owner: Civil Air Patrol Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 23, 2003, 16 hours before - Departed: 1V5, Boulder, CO - Destination: 1V5, Boulder, CO - Flight plan: Military VFR - Airport: 1V5, Boulder Municipal, runway 08, 4,100 × 25 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review November 3, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 851 total, 22 in this make and model, 843 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 130° at 12 knots - Visibility: 40 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 250 ft broken - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 29.87 inHg - Observed at: BJC ## 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 20030517010569A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030517010569A), May 17, 2003: Cessna 182R, Boulder, CO, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot was landing on rwy 08. The aircraft dropped from an altitude of approximately twenty feet and landed hard. The aircraft bounced and landed hard… 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.