Mcallen Miller International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mcallen, Texas 78503
Wednesday, July 9, 2003 9:53 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was returning to its home base from a local, round-robin flight. Witnesses reported that the accident aircraft was on final approach, when the pilot, without advising the tower, performed a 360-degree left turn. After the 360-degree turn, the aircraft proceeded inbound to the runway. Both witnesses observed the airplane touch down approximately 1,000 feet down the runway on the right main landing gear, bounce once, and start a slow turn to the right. The witnesses also stated that the airplane climbed to about 50 feet AGL, descended slightly, and struck the top of a 40-foot high tree just outside of the airport perimeter fence before nose-diving into the ground. The airplane then burst into flames. No mechanical anomalies were revealed during an examination of the airplane or logbooks. The reported wind conditions at the time of the accident were; 150 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 21 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to recover from a bounced landing which resulted in a loss of control. Contributing factors were the gusty winds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/9/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 953
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City McAllen
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78503
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 261052N
Event Location Longitude 0981452W
Event Location Airport McAllen Miller International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MFE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.2
Degrees magnetic from airport 225
Airport Elevation 107
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID MFE
Elevation of weather observation facility 107
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 21
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) 1792
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15137
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 9 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1125
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2004 8:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Antonio, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N13368
NTSB Number FTW03FA184
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17262706
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Jul 24 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 62.3
Airframe Hours 1569.2
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Harold Evan Grassley
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4111 Lebanon Ave
Aircraft Owner City Edinburg
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78539
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 25R
Departure City Edinburg Int'l
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code MFE
Destination City McAllen
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2004 12:31PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 7120
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --