- Date
- October 23, 2015, 12:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3092FCessna 182J
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 8, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA Anchorage FSDO
- FAA report
- 20151023018809A
- Case key
- 92286
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 pitch control during landing, which resulted in a porpoise and structural damage to the airplane.
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
The pilot reported that the airplane landed hard due to the uphill slope of the grass strip. He reported that at touchdown, the airplane porpoised, veered to the left, and the left wing impacted a tree branch. The pilot aborted the landing, departed the area, and landed at an airport without further incident. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, the left wing, the floor boards underneath the rudder pedals, and the firewall. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the airplane landed hard due to the uphill slope of the grass strip. He reported that at touchdown, the airplane porpoised, veered to the left, and the left wing impacted a tree branch. The pilot aborted the landing, departed the area, and landed at an airport without further incident. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, the left wing, the floor boards underneath the rudder pedals, and the firewall. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3092F
- Reported as
- Cessna 182J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18257192
- Built
- 1966
- Airframe hours
- 3,952
- Engine
- Continental O-470R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Chester Ray Hornung
- Registered owner
- Chester Ray Hornung
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 23, 2015
- Departed
- SXQ · Soldotna, AK
- Destination
- None · Skwentna, AK
- Airport
- None · Whiskey Lake Airstrip, runway 23, 1,123 × 54 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Stall warning system
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
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 11, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 69 total · 66 in this make and model · 28 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- PASW, 6 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 29, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.