- Date
- May 5, 2018, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Waterloo, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N263VXCessna 162
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180505004729A
- Case key
- 97245
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 improper landing flare during a soft-field landing and his use of an improper soft-field landing procedure, which resulted in a bounced landing.
Findings · 4
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, while landing on a soft, grass runway, the airplane bounced. He added that, as the airplane settled back to the runway, the nosewheel "hit a soft spot" in the turf, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration's Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3A, contained a section titled, "Soft Field Approach and Landing," which stated: Touchdown on a soft or rough field should be made at the lowest possible airspeed with the airplane in a nose-high pitch attitude. In nose-wheel type airplanes, after the main wheels touch the surface, the pilot should hold sufficient back-elevator pressure to keep the nose wheel off the surface. Using back-elevator pressure and engine power, the pilot can control the rate at which the weight of the airplane is transferred from the wings to the wheels.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, while landing on a soft grass runway, the airplane bounced during touchdown. He added that, as the airplane settled back to the runway, the nose wheel "hit a soft spot" in the turf, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration's Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3A, contains a section titled "Soft Field Approach and Landing" which states: Touchdown on a soft or rough field should be made at the lowest possible airspeed with the airplane in a nose-high pitch attitude. In nose-wheel type airplanes, after the main wheels touch the surface, the pilot should hold sufficient back-elevator pressure to keep the nose wheel off the surface. Using back-elevator pressure and engine power, the pilot can control the rate at which the weight of the airplane is transferred from the wings to the wheels.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N263VX
- Reported as
- Cessna 162
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 16200031
- Built
- 2011
- Airframe hours
- 316.9
- Engine
- Continental O-200 D1B, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 5, 2017
- Departed
- 7I2 · Muncie, IN
- Destination
- 4C2 · Waterloo, IN
- Airport
- 4C2 · Walker/Rowe Waterloo, runway 09, 2,340 × 100 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Handheld GPS
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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2016
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 233 total · 34 in this make and model · 233 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KGWB, 9 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 1, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.9 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.