Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Midland International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Midland, Texas 79703
Friday, June 21, 2002 4:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The student pilot, arriving at her destination, flew around the airport several times to get her bearings. With the runway lights dim, she tried increasing the intensity with the pilot controlled lighting, but was unsuccessful. FAA control tower personnel reported there was no pilot controlled lighting installed at the airport. The pilot also stated the lights on the interstate highway, which borders the airport, were confusing to her. She attempted to land on runway 10, but due to the wind rocking the wings, she aborted the landing. The pilot subsequently landed on runway 16R "with a hard bounce" and taxied to parking. The airplane was then towed and secured in a hangar, at which time damage to the airplane was observed. An inspection of the airplane by an airframe and powerplant mechanic revealed the firewall had been deformed where the nose trunnion attaches to the firewall. An initial on-site examination by an FAA inspector revealed the aircraft had sustained substantial damage during the hard landing. A second FAA inspector who examined the aircraft concluded the damaging force was in an aft and upward direction consistent with a hard nose wheel landing, and not consistent with any sort of side load that could have been applied by improper ground handling. A private firm, commissioned by the pilot to access the damage, concluded the damage was the result of sudden and dramatic side loads on the nose gear during ground movement operations, and not damaged due to an in-flight hard landing.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's hard landing as a result of her improper landing flare. Factors were the prevailing dark night conditions and the student pilot's lack of total experience in night operations.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/21/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 430 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Midland |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 79703 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 315633N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1021207W |
| Event Location Airport | Midland International Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MAF |
| 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 | 2871 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Partial - limited by briefer |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 140 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 4963 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13578 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 25 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 430 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 1 2003 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Lubbock, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5327N |
| NTSB Number | FTW02LA188 |
| 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 | 182Q |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18267648 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2950 |
| 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 7 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 45 |
| Airframe Hours | 2192 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert C. Chase |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Artesia |
| Aircraft Owner State | NM |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 88210 |
| 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 | CNM |
| Departure City | Carlsbad |
| Departure State | NM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 130 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MAF |
| Destination City | Midland |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - flare/touchdown |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2003 6:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 16R |
| Runway Length | 9501 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |