Corvallis Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Corvallis, Oregon 97333
Sunday, May 26, 1996 17:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that while he was on 'short final' for runway 27 at the Corvallis Municipal Airport, the sun 'came from behind a cloud with some glare and visibility problems....' He stated that he 'could not tell [the airplane's] height [above the runway] accurately.' He stated that he began to flare for landing after he 'judged that the dark pavement was just below.' The airplane landed hard on the main landing gear and porpoised forward onto the nose gear. The nose gear collapsed and the firewall was substantially damaged. No preimpact mechanical deficiency was reported.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to properly judge the distance and altitude to the runway just before touching down, and his premature flare for landing. Factors relating to the accident were: the presence of sun glare during the landing, and the resultant degradation of the pilot's visual perception.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/26/1996
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1715
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City CORVALLIS
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97333
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CORVALLIS MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CVO
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 246
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1714 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID CVO
Elevation of weather observation facility 246
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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) 943
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 26 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1921
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:01AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N177JM
NTSB Number SEA96LA101
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 177
Aircraft Series Identifier 177
Aircraft Serial Number 17701307
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HARTMAN, THOMAS B.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 9905 39TH DRIVE NE
Aircraft Owner City MARYSVILLE
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98270
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 CVO
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
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 27
Runway Length 3769
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --