Alamagordo Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Alamagordo, New Mexico 88310
Monday, July 5, 2010 14:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was returning to land after towing a glider to altitude. The wind was gusting up to 19 knots and shifting. The pilot made two attempts to land, but elected to go around each time due to a shimmy in the main landing gear. On the third attempt to land he switched to another runway, composed of dirt. During the landing, the airplane bounced and he elected to go around. Convinced that was something wrong with the landing gear, the pilot performed a low approach over the runway and asked ground personnel to visually check the landing gear; they verified that it looked normal. The pilot made another attempt to land and, during touchdown, the airplane bounced hard 2 to 3 times. Again, the pilot elected to go around and decided to try another landing on the original runway. After landing, the landing gear continued to shimmy and the airplane veered toward the right side of the runway. As the plane slowed, the pilot was able to taxi the airplane safely back to the ramp. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the firewall was wrinkled, the engine mounts were deformed, and the fuselage was damaged at the waterline. Flight control continuity was confirmed and no anomalies were found with the engine or other airplane systems.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's loss of airplane control during landing, which resulted in a hard/bounced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/2010
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Alamagordo
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 88310
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325014N
Event Location Longitude 1055916W
Event Location Airport Alamagordo Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ALM
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4200
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID ALM
Elevation of weather observation facility 4200
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27910
NTSB Notification Source SWR ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 8 2010 2:01PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N71784
NTSB Number CEN10LA383
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 182M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18259755
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name WHITE SANDS SOARING ASSOC INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 1200
Aircraft Owner City ALAMOGORDO
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 88311-1200
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WHITE SANDS SOARING ASSOC INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address PO BOX 1200
Operator City ALAMOGORDO
Operator State NM
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 88311-1200
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Glider Tow
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code ALM
Departure City Alamagordo
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code ALM
Destination City Alamagordo
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2010 9:23AM
User who most recently changed record yeal
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 3412
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --