- Date
- August 11, 1999, 11:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Cortez, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N321TMMoore Q-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990811011749A
- Case key
- 47028
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing and his failure to maintain directional control. Related factors were the soft wet terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
As he approached the airport, the pilot was advised that the wind was from the south approximately 5 to 10 mph, and that the runway was wet as the result of a recent rain shower. The pilot entered the traffic pattern and carried power throughout the approach to runway 21. When the airplane was flared and power reduced for landing, the nose dropped onto the runway. The airplane bounced and skewed 30 degrees to the left. The pilot added full power but the airplane did not appear to gain altitude or airspeed. Because of tall vegetation ahead, the pilot decided to land. He reduced power and landed on the grass, then straightened the airplane to parallel the runway. The airplane rolled into a muddy area and nosed down.
Factual narrative
On August 11, 1999, approximately 1150 mountain daylight time, a Moore Q-200, N321TM, owned and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain while landing at Cortez, Colorado. The airline transport rated pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal cross-country flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Tucumcari, New Mexico, approximately 0945.
The pilot said the flight to Cortez was uneventful and as he approached the airport, he was advised that the wind was from the south approximately 5 to 10 mph, and that the runway was wet as the result of a recent rain shower. The pilot said he entered the traffic pattern and carried power throughout the approach to runway 21. When the airplane was flared and power reduced for landing, the nose dropped onto the runway. The airplane bounced and skewed 30 degrees to the left. The pilot added full power but the airplane did not appear to gain altitude or airspeed. Because of tall vegetation ahead, the pilot decided to land. He reduced power and landed on the grass, then straightened the airplane to parallel the runway. The airplane rolled into a muddy area and nosed down.
Besides a broken propeller, damage was confined to the tailcone that broke approximately 12 inches forward of the vertical stabilizer.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N321TM
- Reported as
- Moore Q-200
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2328
- Airframe hours
- 205
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thomas A. Moore
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 6, 1999 · 59 hours before
- Departed
- TCC · Tucumcari, NM
- Destination
- CEZ
- Airport
- CEZ · Cortez Municipal, runway 21, 7,205 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 46
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,460 total · 205 in this make and model · 2,277 as pilot in command · 39 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CEZ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.