- Date
- August 6, 2012, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Chula Vista, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9727FCessna 208
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120806016479A
- Case key
- 84590
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 failure to arrest the aircraft's sink rate on short final, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot said that, while on short final, the airplane experienced a sudden sink rate when the wind changed from a head wind to calm conditions. He was unable to arrest the sink rate even after power was applied because of the lag time for the airplane’s turbine engine to spool up. The airplane landed hard short of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left side of the fuselage was dented and wrinkled, and the left main landing gear was bent inboard of the axle and was missing its brake assembly.
Factual narrative
The pilot said that while on short final, the airplane experienced a sudden sink rate when the wind went from a head wind to calm conditions. He was unable to arrest the sink rate even after power was applied because of the lag time for the airplane’s turbine engine to spool up. The airplane landed hard, short of the runway. After taxiing to the ramp, examination of the airplane revealed that the left side of the fuselage was dented and wrinkled, and the left main gear was found bent inboard of the axle and its brake assembly was missing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9727F
- Reported as
- Cessna 208
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20800151
- Airframe hours
- 12,990
- Engine
- P&W PT6A SER, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Skydiving · Part 91
- Operator
- Tactical Air Operations Inc, doing business as Skydive San Diego
- Registered owner
- Tactical Air Operations Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 29, 2012
- Departed
- 0CL3 · Chula vista, CA
- Destination
- 0CL3 · Chula vista, CA
- Airport
- 0CL3 · John Nichol's Field Airport, runway 27, 2,400 × 50 ft, dirt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 16, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,650 total · 800 in this make and model · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- NRS, 12 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 14, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 565 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.