Benjamin Rivera Noriega Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Culebras Island, Puerto Rico 00901
Saturday, June 2, 2001 14:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A Cessna R172-K was on approach to Flamenco Beach when the pilot reported that he encountered a downdraft approximately 15 feet over the runway. The pilot stated, that the downdraft pushed the airplane down hard onto the runway. A review of the weather data did not reveal any gust or downdrafts in the area at the time of the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed the lower part of the engine firewall was buckled, as well as the area underneath the fuselage behind the firewall.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Pilots improper flare which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/2/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Culebras Island
Event State PUERTO RICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 00901
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 181847N
Event Location Longitude 0651815W
Event Location Airport Benjamin Rivera Noriega
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CPX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 49
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1354 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID SJU
Elevation of weather observation facility 10
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 40
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) 2026
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11631
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 19 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2002 11:12AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\GIUV
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office SAN JUAN, PR

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1278V
NTSB Number ATL01LA086
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model R172-K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number R1722158
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 May 15 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 68
Airframe Hours 3768
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jose Ramos
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 193317
Aircraft Owner City SAN JUAN
Aircraft Owner State PR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 00901
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 CPX
Departure City CULEBRAS ISLAND
Departure State PR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1350
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CPX
Destination City Culebras Island
Destination State PR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 1 2002 12:22PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 2600
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --