Marlborough Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marlborough, Massachusetts 01752
Saturday, May 16, 1998 13:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot made an approach to a runway which was 1,682 feet long, with the winds from 080 degrees at 9 knots. He said that he was a 'little high' on short final and the airplane 'dropped faster' than he wanted it to. The airplane touched down hard and the pilot aborted the landing and landed at another airport uneventfully. After landing, the pilot took the airplane to a Fix Base Operator on the airport for repairs. The pilot stated that no one was notified of the accident because the extent of the damage was unknown. The repair work was pointed out to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector who was performing routine surveillance. The Inspector determined that the firewall needed replacement, in addition to numerous other wrinkles found on the fuselage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare. A related factor was the crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/16/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1315
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City MARLBOROUGH
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 01752
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MARLBOROUGH AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 9B1
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 285
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1252 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 320
Weather Observation Facility ID FIT
Elevation of weather observation facility 348
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1650
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 18 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1415
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:21AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N42770
NTSB Number IAD98LA069
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 182L
Aircraft Series Identifier 182L
Aircraft Serial Number 18259184
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
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 Apr 16 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 1955
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KENNETH E. BARTHELETTE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 56779 ELEVEN MI ROAD
Aircraft Owner City NEW HUDSON
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48165
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 No
Departure Airport Code PWM
Departure City PORTLAND
Departure State ME
Departure Country
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 9B1
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 14
Runway Length 1682
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --