- Date
- July 4, 2002, 21:45 local (Jul 5, 2002, 01:45 UTC)
- Place
- Millville, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N29321Cessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Inspector
- FAA report
- 20020704017719A
- Case key
- 55184
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 bounced landing recovery. A factor was the dark night conditions.
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 reported that during a night landing the airplane bounced, drifted left, and bounced again. On the second bounce, the horizontal stabilator of the airplane struck runway lights. The pilot added power, aborted the landing, and the airplane became airborne. The pilot returned for a landing without further incident. Prior to the accident flight, the pilot had completed 1 hour of night flight with 3 landing in the preceding 90 days.
Factual narrative
On July 4, 2002, about 2145 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 177, N29321, was substantially damaged during a bounced landing at Millville Municipal Airport, Millville, New Jersey. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight that was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot reported that he had departed about an hour earlier and had been flying locally. Upon his return to the airport, he positioned the airplane for a landing on runway 10. The pilot further stated:
"...I was high and slow and bounced on the runway and bounced a second time, this time hitting a runway lighting fixture. After the second bounce, I began a go-around procedure, but had sustained damage to the elevator. I continued around the field and landed...."
The pilot reported that the left outboard edge of the horizontal stabilator had struck the light. The stabilator had pivoted laterally, and the inboard portion of the right side had a compression buckle.
According to an inspector from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division, two runway lights on the left side of runway 10, about 1,600 to 1,700 feet from the approach end of the runway, in the vicinity of taxiway CHARLIE, were damaged.
Both the 2054, and 2154 weather observations at Millville Airport reported the winds were calm.
According to the pilot's logbook, in the preceding 6 months, he had logged two night flights. One flight was on March 1, 2002, with a duration of 2.6 hours, including 1.3 hours at night, with one night landing. The other flight was on June 5, 2002, for a total duration of 1.4 hours, including 1.0 hour at night with 3 night landings.
In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, Recommendation (How Could This Accident Have Been Prevented), the pilot wrote:
"More night flying and landings...."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29321
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17700811
- Airframe hours
- 2,742.83
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 2, 2002 · 43 hours before
- Departed
- MVY · MIllville, NJ
- Destination
- MVY · MIllville, NJ
- Airport
- MIV · Millville Municipal Airport, runway 10, 6,002 × 150 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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 22, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 810 total · 163 in this make and model · 36 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- MIV
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 4, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 394 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.
Other investigations on N29321 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.