- Date
- March 23, 1997, 15:08 local (23:08 UTC)
- Place
- Everett, WA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N35034Cessna 177B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 30, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970323018679A
- Case key
- 42576
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
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane after landing. Factors relating to the accident include: a blown (failed) nose tire, and soft terrain beside the runway.
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 she made a normal landing, but after lowering the nose, she 'felt a jolt (or crunch), bounced slightly, landed a second time, losing direction control to the left. The plane veered into the soft dirt and grass, which was very wet, most likely due to the rain that morning and the day before. The plane came to a stop with the nose gear embedded in the dirt.' In her written statement, the pilot stated that she believed the nose tire blew on contact with the runway, and that it was a contributing factor to the loss of directional control.
Factual narrative
On March 23, 1997, at 1508 Pacific standard time, N35034, a Cessna 177B, sustained substantial damage when its pilot lost directional control after landing at Paine Field, Everett, Washington. The private pilot and her two passengers were uninjured. The flight had departed Boeing Field on a pleasure flight that was planned to include landings at Paine Field and Bremerton. No flight plan was filed for the flight, which was conducted in visual meteorological conditions. There was no report of the ELT actuating.
The pilot stated that she made a normal landing. On letting down the nose, she "felt a jolt (or crunch), bounced slightly, landed a second time, losing direction control to the left. The plane veered into the soft dirt and grass, which was very wet, most likely due to the rain that morning and the day before. The plane came to a stop with the nose gear embedded in the dirt."
FAA inspectors and a local FBO determined that the airplane had sustained substantial damage. In her written statement, the pilot stated that she believed the nose tire blew on contact with the runway, and that it was a contributing factor to the loss of directional control.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N35034
- Reported as
- Cessna 177B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17702170
- Airframe hours
- 4,420
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1F6D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kencaps Flying Club, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 4, 1996 · 514 hours before
- Departed
- BFI · Seattle, WA
- Destination
- PAE
- Airport
- PAE · Paine Field, runway 34R, 3,000 × 75 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
- 60
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 614 total · 553 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 45 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KPA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.