- Date
- July 13, 1997, 21:30 local (Jul 14, 1997, 04:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fresno, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2164RCessna 182G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970713044469A
- Case key
- 29842
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 improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing and damage to the airplane.
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 stated that he misjudged the landing flare and stalled the aircraft just above the runway during a night landing. The aircraft hit the pavement on the nose gear, damaging the firewall and the structural elements immediately behind it. The pilot was a newly certificated private pilot and had accumulated a total night time of 4.6 hours.
Factual narrative
On July 13, 1997, at 2130 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182G, N2164R, collided with the runway while landing at the Sierra Sky Park Airport, Fresno, California. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was completing a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and the two passengers onboard were not injured. The flight originated at the Sierra Sky Park Airport on the day of the accident at 2030, and made a stop at the Fresno Air Terminal prior to returning for landing.
The pilot reported the accident to Federal Aviation Administration inspectors on July 21 when the extent of the damage was determined to be substantial. The pilot stated that he misjudged the landing flare and stalled the aircraft just above the runway. The aircraft hit the pavement on the nose gear, damaging the firewall and the structural elements immediately behind it.
The pilot is a newly certificated private pilot and has accumulated a total night time of 4.6 hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2164R
- Reported as
- Cessna 182G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18255364
- Airframe hours
- 2,533
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Russell D. Ribb
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 15, 1997 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- Q60
- Airport
- Q60 · Sierra Sky Park, runway 30, 2,600 × 50 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 87 total · 34 in this make and model · 38 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 300° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAT, 15 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.
Other investigations on N2164R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.