- Date
- January 19, 2005, 17:10 local (23:10 UTC)
- Place
- Malvern, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2855FCessna 182J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20050119000879A
- Case key
- 60887
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 failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the sun glare.
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
While flaring to land on runway 22 (3,188-foot by 60-foot runway), the pilot had difficulty seeing the runway due to sun glare. Upon touchdown the airplane started swerving to the left. The pilot corrected for the left swerve and started to apply the brakes. The airplane then started "skidding" to the right and departed the right side of the runway, before impacting a ditch. The airplane came to rest in an upright position.
Factual narrative
On January 19, 2005, about 1710 central standard time, a Cessna 182J single-engine airplane, N2855F, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while landing at the Malvern Municipal Airport (M78), near Malvern, Arkansas. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was registered to the USDA Forest Service FEPP, and operated by the Arkansas Forestry Commission, both of Little Rock, Arkansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 fire detection flight. The local flight originated from the M78 airport at 1230.
According to the 1,062-hour pilot, while flaring to land on runway 22 (3,188-foot by 60-foot runway), she had difficulty seeing the runway due to sun glare. Upon touchdown the airplane started swerving to the left. The pilot corrected for the left swerve and started to apply the brakes. The airplane then started "skidding" to the right and departed the right side of the runway, before impacting a ditch. The airplane came to rest in an upright position.
The pilot further reported that there did not appear to be any malfunction or anomalies in the flight controls or rudder system of the aircraft.
An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration provided photographs of the damaged airplane to an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. The photographs revealed the fuselage and left outboard wing leading edge sustained structural damage.
At 1753 central standard time, the weather observation facility at Memorial Field Airport (HOT), near Hot Springs, Arkansas, which is located approximately 18.4 miles northwest of the accident site, was reporting wind from 250 degrees at five knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear of clouds, temperature 55 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 37 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.22 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2855F
- Reported as
- Cessna 182J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18256955
- Engine
- Continental O-470, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Arkansas Forest Commission
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- M78 · Malvern, AR
- Destination
- Malvern, AR
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
- 36
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 1,062 total · 327 in this make and model · 28 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.