- Date
- November 6, 1991, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fortuna, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3474SCessna 182H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911106051939A
- Case key
- 27505
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
That the pilot misjudged the flare altitude. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the flight instructor to adequately supervise the flight.
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 certificated private pilot was accompanied by a flight instructor and passenger while receiving training for a biennial flight review. During a cross country flight, the CFI requested that the pilot execute a short field landing at an airport along the route of flight. The CFI failed to properly supervise the flight and the pilot misjudged the altitude by beginning the flare at about 20 feet above the runway causing the airplane to sustain a hard landing damaging the propeller, nose wheel and airframe firewall. The occupants were uninjured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3474S
- Reported as
- Cessna 182H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18255874
- Airframe hours
- 4,994
- Engine
- Continental O-470R, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Symons, Stewven
- Registered owner
- Greens Pharmacy, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 22, 1991 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- O16 · Garberville, CA
- Destination
- EKA · Eureka, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- FOT · Fortuna, runway 29, 4,025 × 100 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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 610 total · 270 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.