- Date
- June 2, 2002, 16:05 local (20:05 UTC)
- Place
- Littlestown, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2555GCessna 182B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20020602017709A
- Case key
- 54826
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 flair, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in this accident was the crosswind condition.
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
While landing on runway 3, the airplane's right wing contacted the runway and the airplane landed hard. A weather observation reported at an airport about 18 miles northeast of the accident site, included winds from 320 degrees at 13 knots. The pilot further reported that he conducted an uneventful flight an hour prior to the accident, with the same wind conditions.
Factual narrative
On June 2, 2002, about 1605 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182B, N2555G, was substantially damaged while landing at the Kingsdale Airport (PA23), Littlestown, Pennsylvania. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the parachuting flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a written statement, the pilot said he had dropped skydivers and was returning to land on runway 3, a 2,060-foot long, 100-foot wide, turf strip. During the flair stage of landing, the airplane was caught in a "downdraft." The airplane's right wing contacted the runway and the airplane landed hard.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed damage to the nose gear, propeller, firewall and wing tips. The pilot reported he did not experience any mechanical problems with the airplane.
A weather observation reported at an airport about 18 miles northeast of the accident site, included winds from 320 degrees at 13 knots. The pilot further reported that he conducted an uneventful flight an hour prior to the accident, with the same wind conditions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2555G
- Reported as
- Cessna 182B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 51855
- Airframe hours
- 9,485
- Engine
- Continental O-470, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- SkyDivin Place Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 6, 2002 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- PA23 · Littlestown, PA
- Destination
- PA23
- Airport
- 76W · Kingsdale Air Park, runway 03, 2,060 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- March 25, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 290 total · 100 in this make and model · 255 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.72 inHg
- Observed at
- THV, 18 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 25, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 467 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.