- Date
- February 15, 2004, 21:00 local (Feb 16, 2004, 07:00 UTC)
- Place
- Honolulu, HI
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N30599Cessna 177A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 58823
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 misjudged landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and porpoising down the runway.
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 made a hard landing while attempting to execute an instrument landing system (ILS) approach. The pilot said that during the landing flare, the airplane encountered a gust of wind from the left side. The airplane went into a nose-low attitude, hit the runway surface hard, and porpoised. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. An aviation routine weather report (METAR) for Honolulu International Airport at 2053, reported steady state winds from 010 degrees at 10 knots and visibility at 10 statute miles.
Factual narrative
On February 15, 2004, about 2100 Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 177A, N30599, made a hard landing at Honolulu International Airport (PHNL), Honolulu, Hawaii. The airplane was owned and operated by Moore Air, Inc., under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed Kahului Airport (PHOG), Kahului, Hawaii, about 1945, with a planned destination of PHNL. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was attempting to execute the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 04R. During the landing flare, the airplane encountered a gust of wind from the left side. The airplane went into a nose-low attitude, hit the runway surface hard, and porpoised. The pilot taxied back to parking. The damage to the airplane included the creasing of the airplane skin, a nick in the propeller, and a bend in the firewall. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
An aviation routine weather report (METAR) for PHNL at 2053, reported winds from 010 degrees at 10 knots and visibility at 10 statute miles.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N30599
- Reported as
- Cessna 177A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17701351
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Moore Air Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PHOG · Kahului, HI
- Destination
- PHNL · Honolulu, HI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- PHNL · Honolulu International Airport, runway 04R
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 690 total · 30 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Other investigations on N30599 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.