- Date
- August 30, 2020, 14:56 local (18:56 UTC)
- Place
- Millington, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3707UCessna 182
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Wrong surface or wrong airport
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA - FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200830017749A
- Case key
- 101886
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 misidentification of a corn field for the destination airport’s runway, and a subsequent aerodynamic stall at low altitude while attempting to land.
Findings · 3
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
After a successful glider release, the pilot of the tow airplane was attempting to return to the turf runway at the departure airport. The pilot stated that he had difficulty locating the runway amongst the nearby corn fields and mistakenly aligned the airplane to land on a long swath of corn. During the landing attempt, and just as the pilot realized that the airplane was over corn and not the runway, the airplane “stalled” and impacted the ground. The airplane’s fuselage and wings were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3707U
- Reported as
- Cessna 182 (G)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18255107
- Built
- 1963
- Airframe hours
- 5,328
- Engine
- Continental O-470 R SERIES, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Glider tow · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 6, 2020 · 975 hours before
- Departed
- MD1 · Millington, MD
- Destination
- MD1 · Millington, MD
- Airport
- MD1 · Massey Aerodrome
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 84
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Waiver time limited special
- Last flight review
- September 7, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 800 total · 76.6 in this make and model · 4.1 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 80 °F
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 19, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 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.
Other investigations on N3707U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.