Nas Chambers Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oceana, Virginia 23457
Saturday, October 11, 1997 10:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that when he was on final approach to land, his three year old daughter seated in the right rear seat, got out of her seat, and he was distracted. The airplane touched down hard, which buckled the fire wall. He said there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane, and the accident could have been prevented if his wife had sat in the back with his daughter.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Improper flare by the pilot, which resulted in a hard landing. A related factor was the diverted attention.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/11/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City OCEANA
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23457
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport NAS CHAMBERS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NGU
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 15
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
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) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1758
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 24 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1115
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:37PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N64507
NTSB Number IAD98LA007
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
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 17265267
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 Sep 15 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NORFOLK NAVY FLYING CLUB
Aircraft Owner Street Address NAVAL AIR STATION
Aircraft Owner City NORFOLK
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23511
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 NGU
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 955
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 1
Runway Length 8369
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --