- Date
- December 26, 2002, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Akron, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N782SPCessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20021226034259A
- Case key
- 56245
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.
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 was landing on runway 23, a 7,597 foot-long, 150 foot-wide, asphalt runway. The airplane touched down hard and began to bounce. The airplane bounced five or six times before the pilot performed a go-around. During the second landing attempt, the pilot experienced difficulty manipulating the airplane's controls. The airplane landed hard and veered off the left side of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed the outboard 6-inches of the propeller tips were curled aft and the upper part of the landing gear strut was pushed into and thru the firewall. Additionally, the movement of the airplane's control column, rudder pedals, aileron cables, and elevator trim was restricted due to impact damage. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems prior to the first landing attempt. A weather observation taken about the time of the accident reported that the winds were from 260 degrees at 12 knots.
Factual narrative
On December 26, 2002, about 1430 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172S, N782SP, was substantially damaged while landing at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport (CAK), Akron, Ohio. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot said he was landing with a crosswind component of about 15 knots, on runway 23, a 7,597-foot-long, 150-foot wide, asphalt runway. The airplane touched down hard and began to bounce. The airplane bounced five or six times before the pilot performed a go-around. During the second landing attempt, the pilot experienced difficulty manipulating the airplane's controls. The airplane landed hard, veered off the left side of the runway, and struck a snow bank.
Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed the outboard 6-inches of the propeller tips were curled aft and the upper part of the landing gear strut was pushed into and thru the firewall. Additionally, the movement of the airplane's control column, rudder pedals, aileron cables, and elevator trim was restricted due to impact damage.
The pilot did not report any mechanical problems prior to the first landing attempt. He reported 2,109 hours of total flight experience, which included about 205 hours in single engine airplanes and 17 hours in the make and model of the accident airplane.
An automated weather observation taken at CAK, at 1433, reported the winds were from 260 degrees at 12 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N782SP
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S8710
- Airframe hours
- 820
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Airsports Aviation
- Registered owner
- 9579V Aviation Ltd.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Departed
- BKL · Cleveland, OH
- Destination
- CAK · Akron, OH
- Airport
- CAK · Akron-Canton Regional, runway 23, 7,597 × 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
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Military
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 20, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,109 total · 17 in this make and model · 1,204 as pilot in command · 52 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 23 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- CAK
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 8, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 879 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.