- Date
- September 26, 2012, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Statesboro, GA
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N127ARCessna 208B
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 10, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA / FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120926020359A
- Case key
- 85157
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 inadequate flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was to complete recurrent training in the airplane. While on the downwind leg for a landing on runway 5, the flight instructor configured the airplane for a simulated engine failure maneuver. The pilot said he told the instructor that the airplane was too high for a landing on runway 5, so they agreed that he would land on runway 32.The pilot said that as he turned the airplane onto the final leg for runway 32, the airplane overshot the centerline and it began to descend about 200 feet per minute. About 150 feet above ground level, the pilot added power, but the airplane continued to descend and the left main gear and left wing tip impacted the runway and the airplane bounced. The pilot added full power and executed a go-around. The pilot said that during the go-around he noticed that the left outboard wing was bent and an observer in the back of the airplane reported that the left main landing gear was bent. The pilot said he flew the airplane around the pattern, and after the airplane landed, he noted it was difficult to steer the airplane and the airplane veered off the runway and came to rest in a grassy area. During the hard landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was to complete recurrent training in the airplane. While on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the flight instructor configured the airplane for a simulated engine failure maneuver. The airplane was about a quarter mile from the runway on the base leg of the traffic pattern and the ground proximity warning system announced “500 feet.” As the pilot turned the airplane onto the final leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane overshot the centerline and it began to descend about 200 feet per minute. Then, about 150 feet above ground level, the pilot began to add power, but the airplane continued to descend and subsequently impacted the runway and bounced. The pilot recovered the airplane from the bounce, proceeded to takeoff and flew the airplane around the pattern. The occupants of the airplane noted that the left wing was bent and witness told them that the left main landing gear was bent. During the landing, the airplane veered off the runway and came to rest in a grassy area. During the accident sequence, the airplane incurred substantial damage to the left wing. The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N127AR
- Reported as
- Cessna 208B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 208B1055
- Airframe hours
- 3,310
- Engine
- P&W PT6A SER, 675 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Dst, LLC
- Registered owner
- Tenax Aerospace, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · September 6, 2012
- Departed
- SAV · Savannah, GA
- Destination
- TBR · Statesboro, GA
- Airport
- TBR · Statesboro-Bulloch County, runway 32, 6,000 × 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 27, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 1,025 in this make and model · 7,403 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2005
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,100 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- TBR
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 11, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.