# NTSB ERA11CA226: Cessna U206C, N100HA, Bridgeport, CT, April 2, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: April 2, 2011, 19:05 local (23:05 UTC) - Place: Bridgeport, CT - Coordinates: 41.179714, -73.19075 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1797&lon=-73.1907&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 20, 2011 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 78758 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA11CA226 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/78758/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=78758 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11CA226 ## Probable cause The pilot's delayed decision to perform a go-around which resulted in a hard landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: delayed action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna U206C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md?model=2073332), [All aircraft, 894 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md) - [Light condition: glare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036030): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on personnel (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna U206C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036030/cases.md?model=2073332), [All aircraft, 109 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of visual reference](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/402); cases with it: [Cessna U206C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/402/sequence.md?model=2073332), [All aircraft, 242 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/402/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna U206C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2073332), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis According to the pilot, he was landing to the west during the late afternoon. As he flared the airplane, he lost his visual reference with the ground due to the sun's glare, momentarily blinding him. He initiated a go-around; however, the airplane landed hard and bounced airborne three times, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall and nose section. He reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. According to data from the United States Naval Observatory, official sunset was at 1919. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about the time of the accident, the sun would have been about 275 degrees magnetic and about 2 degrees above the horizon. ## Factual narrative According to the pilot, he was landing to the west during the late afternoon. As the airplane was in the flare, the pilot lost his visual reference with the ground due to the sun's glare, momentarily blinding him. He began to perform a go-around maneuver; however, the airplane landed hard and porpoised three times, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall and nose section. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. According to data from the United States Naval Observatory, official sunset was at 1919. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about the time of the accident, the sun would have been about 275 degrees magnetic and about 2 degrees above the horizon. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N100HA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N100HA-2018-02-27), registration cancelled 2018-02-27, S/N U206-0930, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA U206C - Registry model: [Cessna U206C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-u206c) (registry code 2073332) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: U206-0930 - Engines: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Hagerstown Aircraft Services Inc - Registered owner: Hagerstown Aircraft Services Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: GAI, Gaithersburg, MD - Destination: BDR, Bridgeport, CT - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: BDR, Igor I Sikorsky Memorial Airpo, runway 29, 4,761 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 72; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 4,500 total, 54 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 330° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 8,000 ft broken - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 21 °F - Altimeter: 29.53 inHg - Observed at: BDR ## 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 20110402007249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110402007249A), Apr 2, 2011: Cessna U206C, Bridgeport, CT, Substantial damage. IFR flight from kaig to kbdr, aircraft turned from left base to final on runway 29, pilot noticed sun was directely off the end of rwy 29 and low on the… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 3, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=78758. 1.3 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 286 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40346649&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Memorandum For Record: FAA Notes From Accident (item 2, .PDF, 77 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40346650&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20For%20Record%3A%20FAA%20Notes%20From%20Accident-Master.PDF - Bradley Weather (item 3, .PDF, 86 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40346225&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Bradley%20Weather-Master.PDF - Sunset and Sun Angle Tables (item 4, .PDF, 59 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40346226&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Sunset%20and%20Sun%20Angle%20Tables-Master.PDF - Photos: 2 Embedded (Courtesy of the FAA) (item 5, .PDF, 2 photos, 809 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40346229&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photos%3A%202%20Embedded%20(Courtesy%20of%20the%20FAA)-Master.PDF 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.