Pilot Debrief

Cessna 182 near Chugiak, AK — 2018-07-01

Final reportANC18CA052
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Date
2018-07-01
Location
Chugiak, AK, USA
Airport
BCV
Aircraft
Cessna 182
Registration
N5020D
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's mismanagement of the engine controls due to distraction in the traffic pattern, which resulted in a hard landing short of the runway.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while performing a high-speed taxi to evaluate an erratic airspeed indicator, the airplane began to porpoise, so she performed a takeoff and maneuvered the airplane around the traffic pattern to land. The pilot was distracted by other airplanes in the traffic pattern and did not perform the landing checklist and felt "behind" the airplane. On final approach, she pushed in the throttle control to correct for a rapid descent rate; however, the engine did not respond, and the airplane landed hard in gravel short of the intended runway. The pilot added that, after the impact, she noted that the mixture control was fully out and that she may have pulled out the wrong engine control during the approach. A witness on the ground reported that the airplane descended rapidly in a flat attitude with the propeller rotating slowly. The witness responded to the accident scene and noted that the mixture, throttle, and propeller controls were all pulled out and that the pilot could not explain how that happened, but she did state that she was very distracted while flying in the pattern. The pilot stated that she had not flown for about 8 months and had no intent to fly that day. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not perform the landing checklist due to distraction.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents4

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