Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 170 near Houston, TX — 2022-06-02

Final reportCEN22LA236
Sign in to save
Date
2022-06-02
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Airport
AXH
Aircraft
CESSNA 170
Registration
N1396D
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot’s inability to compensate for a downdraft during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing, and subsequent loss of directional control.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing the airplane encountered a downdraft. The airplane bounced twice and jerked to the left before the pilot attempted to abort the landing. The airplane departed the runway to the left and then returned back to the runway where the left main landing gear separated from the fuselage. The airplane came to rest on its right main wheel, tail wheel, and left wing, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing spar. The left landing gear damage was consistent with impact and overload separation. A review of the maintenance records did not reveal any maintenance to the left landing gear attach point. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any evidence of a pre-impact anomaly that would have precluded normal operations. It is likely that the landing gear separated from the airplane due to impact forces during the landing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted landing earlier to avoid hard touchdown.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

Related mishaps