- Date
- July 17, 1994, 16:20 local (23:20 UTC)
- Place
- Rota Island (Pacific Ocean)
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1423CCessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 12, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940717018579A
- Case key
- 28801
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 porpoising the aircraft upon landing and his inadequate recovery from a bounced 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 pilot departed the Island of Rota for an over water flight to the Island of guam. Sometime after departure, he became disoriented and eventually received assistance from guam radar for a return to Rota. Upon landing, the pilot porpoised the aircraft until the nose gear sheared off.
Factual narrative
On July 17, 1994, at 1620 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 177, N1423C, collided with the runway at Rota International Airport, Rota Island in the northern Mariana Islands. The airplane was being operated as a personal over water flight to the island of Guam. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and the airplane was being operated under visual flight rules.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot took off in the wrong direction, became disoriented, and required help from Guam radar. With the assistance of the Guam radar controller, the pilot returned to Rota. On landing, the aircraft porpoised until the nose gear broke off substantially damaging the aircraft. The certificated private pilot was not injured. The pilot was requested to submit an accident report, but none has been received in this office.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1423C
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17702725
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1F6D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Unterberg, Jurgen H W
- Registered owner
- Unterberg, Jurgen H W
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- GRO
- Destination
- Agana
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- GRO · Rota International, runway 27, 6,000 × 300 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 79 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.