- Date
- March 12, 2018, 09:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rockford, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N96772Cessna 182
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 27, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180312002319A
- Case key
- 96856
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 unnecessary action during the approach, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 5
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 during landing, about 20 ft above ground level and about 80 kts, he reached for his iPad. He took his eyes off the runway to grab the device that was located on the seat next to him, and the airplane collided with the ground in a nose-down attitude. The pilot reported that he should not have taken his eyes off the runway during landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage stringers, longerons, and formers. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during landing, about 20ft above ground level and about 80kts, he reached for his iPad. He took his eyes off the runway to grab the device that was located on the seat next to him and the airplane collided with the ground, in a nose down attitude. The pilot reported that he should not have taken his eyes off the runway during landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage stringers, longerons, and formers. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N96772
- Reported as
- Cessna 182 (Q)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18266846
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 3,144
- Engine
- Continental O-470-U, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 21, 2017
- Departed
- DBQ · Dubuque, CA
- Destination
- RFD · Rockford, IL
- Airport
- RFD · Chicago/Rockford Intl, runway 01, 8,200 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, 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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 9, 2018
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 3,428 total · 3,328 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- KRFD
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 20, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.5 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.