Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 182 near Kalispell, MT — 2009-04-04

Final reportWPR09LA179
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Date
2009-04-04
Location
Kalispell, MT, USA
Airport
MT53
Aircraft
CESSNA 182
Registration
N6433A
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

A partial loss of engine power during a go-around for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was a fatigue failure of the right main landing gear spring.

NTSB narrative

The airplane used for the skydiving operation was equipped with a foot step just above the right wheel, which the skydivers used to launch from the airplane. As the last of four skydivers stepped on the foot step, the right main landing gear fell away. The pilot reported that after he flew around for about 1 1/2 hours to burn off fuel, he intended to perform a low pass over the runway before coming around to land. The carburetor heat was turned on during the descent and, as he applied power to go around at midfield, the engine sputtered and lost partial power. The airplane was about 20 feet above ground level and he was able to maintain that altitude past the runway end before landing off the runway surface on snowy terrain. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The carburetor heat was found in the “off” position; however, the investigation did not determine if the pilot turned off the carburetor heat or if it was pushed in by impact forces. Examination of the main landing gear revealed a fracture originating at the forward upper surface spring. The fracture surface displayed features indicative of fatigue cracking; the depth of the cracking was approximately 0.11 inches. An examination of the engine and carburetor revealed no anomalies that could account for the loss of partial power. The meteorological conditions were not conducive to carburetor icing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the landing after engine sputtered.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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