Prescott Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Prescott, Arizona 86303
Saturday, February 9, 2002 14:02 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot landed the airplane hard on the nose landing gear, which collapsed; this was his first flight in this type of airplane. The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and this was his first flight in it. He had the previous owner sitting in the right seat for the familiarization flight. The airplane had a single control stick mounted between the two seats, and he was the sole manipulator of the controls. He took off and intended to stay in the traffic pattern to practice touch-and-go landings and reported that the winds were very gusty. On the first landing he made a short approach that was too fast. After the nose landing gear sheared off, the airplane slid across the runway before coming to rest. The pilot had about 100 hours total time in airplanes, primarily in the Cessna 182, and was flying on a student certificate without an endorsement for this airplane. The previous owner was a commercial pilot, but not a certified flight instructor.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot failed to maintain landing reference speed and aircraft control. A factor was the gusty wind conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/9/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1402
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City PRESCOTT
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86303
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport PRESCOTT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PRC
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 5045
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1406 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PRC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5045
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.34
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 12364
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date Feb 9 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1322
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 3:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3218N
NTSB Number LAX02LA081
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 CONRAD
Aircraft Model PULSAR 582
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3971321
Certified Max Gross Weight 980
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
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 350
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT A. ELIAS
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City PEARCE
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85625
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PRC
Departure City PRESCOTT
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1350
Departure Time Zone MST
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? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 17 2002 12:00PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21R
Runway Length 4846
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --