Palm Springs Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palm Springs, California 92262
Wednesday, December 13, 1995 14:51 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Tower personnel reported that the aircraft departed runway 31L and had reached 300 to 500 feet above ground level when the pilot radioed that he was experiencing engine difficulty. The pilot made a right 180-degree turn and was cleared to land on parallel runway 13L. The aircraft landed long on the runway and porpoised/bounced, collapsing the nosegear assembly. The aircraft came to rest upright at the departure end of runway 13L. The surface wind was northwesterly at 8 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate bounced landing recovery technique, which resulted in porpoising during a downwind emergency landing. The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/13/1995
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1451
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City PALM SPRINGS
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92262
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PALM SPRINGS REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PSP
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 462
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1451 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID PSP
Elevation of weather observation facility 462
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1755
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 14 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N73601
NTSB Number LAX96LA071
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier 172M
Aircraft Serial Number 17267570
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 6 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 2438
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN J. MCQUADE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 25891 PASEO DE JUANITA
Aircraft Owner City SAN JUAN CAPIST
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92675
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PSP
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TRM
Destination City THERMAL
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31L
Runway Length 8500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --