# NTSB SEA05LA047: Cessna 182K, N2536Q, Olympia, WA, December 27, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 27, 2004, 15:20 local (23:20 UTC) - Place: Olympia, WA - Coordinates: 46.971942, -122.904441 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.9719&lon=-122.9044&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 8, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Seattle FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 60989 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA05LA047 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60989/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA05LA047 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper flare. Factors include too high of an airspeed and an inadvertent porpoise. ## Analysis During a VFR approach the pilot decided to keep the aircraft's speed fairly high because he had been sequenced ahead of a couple of other aircraft that were on long final approaches. He therefore crossed the runway threshold at a higher speed than he would normally use, and after he initiated the landing flare, the aircraft began to porpoise. He then attempted to push it onto the runway surface by applying forward pressure on the control yoke, but during that attempt, the aircraft descended at a rate that resulted in it hitting the runway surface hard enough to bend the engine firewall. It was determined that there were no problems with the aircraft's engine or flight controls, but instead the pilot had simply over-controlled the pitch input. ## Factual narrative On December 27, 2004, approximately 1520 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 182K, N2536Q, impacted the surface of the runway during an inadvertent hard landing at Olympia Regional Airport, Olympia, Washington. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross-country flight, which departed Rohnerville, California, about three hours and twenty minutes prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. There was no ELT activation. According to the pilot, during his VFR approach to Olympia Airport, he decided to keep the aircraft's speed fairly high because he had been sequenced ahead of a couple of other aircraft that were on long final approaches. He therefore crossed the runway threshold at a higher speed than he would normally use, and after he initiated the landing flare, the aircraft began to porpoise. He then attempted to push it onto the runway surface by applying forward pressure on the control yoke, but during that attempt, the aircraft descended at a rate that resulted in it hitting the runway surface hard enough to bend the engine firewall. When the aircraft hit the runway surface, the pilot added power and executed a go-around, ultimately returning for an uneventful full-stop landing. According to the pilot, there were no problems with the aircraft's engine or flight controls, but instead he had just simply over-controlled the pitch input. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - inadvertent, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2536Q](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2536Q), registered now, S/N 18257736, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182K - Registry model: [Cessna 182K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182k) (registry code 2072724) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 57736 - Airframe hours: 6694 - Engines: Continental O-470-R 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: George R. King - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: KFOT, Rohnerville, CA - Destination: KOLM, Olympia, WA - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: KOLM, Olympia Regional Airport, runway 17, 5,419 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 77; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review October 20, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 3,497 total, 512 in this make and model, 31 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 170° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 29.93 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20041227034329A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20041227034329A), Dec 27, 2004: Cessna 182K, Olympia, WA, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot [privacy data omitted] ^ stated, during his approach to Olympia Airport, he decided to keep the aircraft's speed fairly high because he thought… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.