Capital City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17102
Thursday, May 22, 2014 21:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was returning to his home airport at the conclusion of a local flight, and that he aborted the first landing attempt due to turbulence and wind gusts. Following a second approach for landing, the airplane encountered a "gust of wind" from the left during the landing flare. The airplane banked right, and the nose landing gear subsequently contacted the runway "hard." Postaccident inspection revealed that the propeller had struck the runway during landing, and further examination revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to compensate for wind conditions during landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/22/2014
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2115
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Harrisburg
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 17102
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 401302N
Event Location Longitude 0765105W
Event Location Airport Capital City Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CXY
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 347
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 2056 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID CXY
Elevation of weather observation facility 347
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.83
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KCXY 230056Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR 21/13 A29
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) 32852
NTSB Notification Source Operator
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2014 2:58PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N193ME
NTSB Number ERA14CA273
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 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8458
Certified Max Gross Weight 2299
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 4
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection May 9 2014 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1608
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SKY BLUE AVIATION LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City HARRISBURG
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 171123074
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SKY BLUE AVIATION LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City HARRISBURG
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 171123074
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 P34
Departure City Mifflintown
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2050
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CXY
Destination City Harrisburg
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2014 2:58PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8
Runway Length 5001
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --