- Date
- May 24, 1997, 10:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Wentworth, NH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N20892Cessna 182P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970524011839A
- Case key
- 28197
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
Pilot's inadequate preflight planning to determine the suitability of an unimproved field for landing.
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 asked the owner of a field conveniently located to his business for permission to land. The pilot stated that he landed on grass runways previously, but never on unimproved surfaces. His preparation for the flight did not include an examination of the field conditions prior to the landing attempt. On landing rollout, the pilot stated that the field seemed rougher than anticipated. At 25 knots, the nose gear dug into a soft portion of the ground and the airplane flipped, coming to rest inverted.
Factual narrative
On May 24, 1997, about 1045 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182P, N20892, was substantially damaged as it flipped over during landing rollout in a field near Wentworth, New Hampshire. The certificated private pilot/owner was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from the Plymouth Municipal Airport, Plymouth, New Hampshire, about 1030.
The private pilot stated that he was frustrated because the Plymouth Municipal Airport was a 1 hour car drive distance away, and seemed to be useable only half of the year. The pilot stated that he wanted someplace conveniently located to his business. He asked the owner of the field for permission to land. The pilot reported that he had landed on grass runways previously, but never on an unimproved surface. He stated that he did not closely examine the field's conditions prior to the landing attempt. During the landing roll out, the pilot found the field rougher than anticipated. At 25 knots, he stated that the nose gear dug into a soft portion of the ground and the airplane flipped over, coming to rest inverted.
A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector reported that the field was a non recognized airstrip, without an official designator, although pilots have used the field in the past. He described the field as 3,500 feet long, with clear approaches a each end.
The private pilot had accumulated a total of 654 flight hours, with 359 hours in make and model. He stated that the airplane was functioning normally prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20892
- Reported as
- Cessna 182P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18261291
- Airframe hours
- 2,909
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R-25, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John M. King, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 18, 1996 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- NH12 · Plymouth, NH
- Destination
- NONE
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, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 654 total · 359 in this make and model · 609 as pilot in command · 61 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BML, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.