Paradise Skypark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Paradise, California 95969
Saturday, September 28, 2002 9:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot made a hard landing collapsing the nose gear and damaging the firewall. The pilot took off and turned to downwind for landing. He reported that he flew an uneventful and normal approach. He said that he touched down on the main landing gear, but the nose gear folded under the airplane as it touched down. An examination of the runway by the Federal Aviation Administration accident coordinator revealed a skid mark on the runway at the touchdown point. He also observed gouges on the runway surface and chunks of displaced runway material. The nose wheel deformed and buckled inboard along one quadrant. The nose gear fork fractured in several places; these fracture surfaces were irregular and rough in appearance. The fork split along its lateral axis, and the aft half of the fork also split parallel to the longitudinal axis. The aft half of the nose gear collar and a section of the aft fork fractured and separated. The fork fracture surface angled about 45 degrees to the surface, and had an uneven and grainy surface. The firewall sustained upward crush damage, and was buckled. The bottom and sides of the fuselage were buckled aft of the main landing gear.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper flare resulting in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 915
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City PARADISE
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95969
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334258N
Event Location Longitude 1213659W
Event Location Airport Paradise Skypark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID Q88
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 1300
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 854 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID KRBL
Elevation of weather observation facility 349
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 40
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.82
Density Altitude (feet) 1936
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) 16870
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 8 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 28 2004 12:45PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAC-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2443R
NTSB Number LAX02LA301
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 182G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18255543
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James Schlerwitzauer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Paradise
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95969
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SKYDIVE IN PARADISE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 4405 AIRPORT ROAD #A
Operator City PARADISE
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95969
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code Q88
Departure City PARADISE
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 910
Departure Time Zone PDT
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 - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 26 2004 7:59PM
User who most recently changed record RICJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 2700
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --