- Date
- August 2, 2002, 15:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- Mokelumne Hill, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8290GCessna 182P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020802023489A
- Case key
- 55378
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 the proper glidepath and failure to follow the manufacturer's recommended flap setting of 40 degrees, which resulted in an undershoot short of the runway. Factors include the runway's upslope and short length, which likely created the visual illusion of being high during the approach.
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 airplane collided with terrain short of the runway while landing at a private airstrip. The 1,100-foot-long runway has a 5- to 7-percent upgrade to the south. While making a left downwind approach for a short field landing, the pilot had selected 20 degrees of flaps. Just short of the runway, the airplane sank about 10 feet, and "one second" later, the airplane impacted a dirt bank 2 feet short of the north edge of the runway. The pilot stated that "more altitude on final, use of full flaps" could have prevented the accident. The pilot's operating handbook for the airplane calls for a 40-degree-flap setting on short field and normal landings. No mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane were reported prior to the mishap.
Factual narrative
On August 2, 2002, at 1505 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182P, N8290G, collided with terrain short of the runway while landing at the Del Orto private airstrip, Mokelumne Hill, California. The airplane was owned and operated by Sacramento Aero Services, Inc., under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and rented by the pilot for a personal flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated at Auburn, California, at 1427, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that while making a left downwind approach for a short field landing, he had selected 20 degrees of flaps. Just short of the runway, the airplane sank about 10 feet, and "one second" later, the airplane impacted a dirt bank about 2 feet short of the north edge of the south runway. The main landing gear and the nose gear collapsed during the accident sequence and the airplane slid down the centerline of the runway coming to rest approximately 130 feet past the initial point of impact. No mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane were reported prior to the mishap. The 1,100-foot runway has a 5- to 7-percent upgrade to the south. Following the accident, the pilot stated that "more altitude on final, use of full flaps" could have prevented the accident.
The Cessna 182P pilot's operating handbook calls for a 40-degree-flap setting on short field and normal landings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8290G
- Reported as
- Cessna 182P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18263362
- Airframe hours
- 5,021
- Engine
- Continental O-470 R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sacramento Aero Services, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 23, 2002 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- AUN · Auburn, CA
- Destination
- Mokelumne Hill, CA
- Airport
- PVT · Del Orto, runway 18, 1,100 × 24 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
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 29, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 8 in this make and model · 200 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.80 inHg
- Observed at
- KSAC, 40 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 13, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 722 KB 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.