- Date
- June 13, 1994, 11:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Watonga, OK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2867XCessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940613015309A
- Case key
- 19084
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
Was the pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath, his failure to compensate for existing wind conditions, and his failure to maintain clearance with the fence. A factor was the weather.
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
The private pilot and the passenger reported encountering a wind shear, accompanied by a strong downdraft, while on short final to runway 17. The pilot added power but the horizontal stabilator struck a barbed wire fence, and the airplane landed hard short of the threshold. The wind at the time of the accident was reported from 200 degrees at 22 knots, gusting to 29 knots.
Factual narrative
On June 13, 1994, at 1145 central daylight time, a Cessna 177, N2867X, was substantially damaged while landing near Watonga, Oklahoma. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight.
The pilot stated that a wind shear, accompanied by a strong downdraft, was encountered while on short final to runway 17 at the Watonga Airport. The pilot added that "power was applied to make the runway, and as the airplane flared, the horizontal stabilator struck a barbed wire fence."
The pilot further stated that the contact with the fence forced the main landing gear to impact on a dirt road short of the runway threshold. Wind was from 200 degrees at 22 knots, gusting to 29.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2867X
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17700267
- Airframe hours
- 1,788
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Regional Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Provisional (Special); Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 5, 1994
- Departed
- LAW · Lawton, OK
- Airport
- OK78 · Watonga Airport, runway 17, 4,220 × 60 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 174 total · 7 in this make and model · 125 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 22 knots, gusting 29
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
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 N2867X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.