OXFORD, MA, USA
N42233
CESSNA 182L
THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS RECEIVING INSTRUCTION IN HIS AIRPLANE BY A CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI). DURING LANDING ON A GRASS STRIP, THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT. THE CFI TOOK THE CONTROLS. THE NOSE GEAR IMPACTED THE GROUND AND WAS SEPARATED. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO ROLL UNTIL THE NOSE SETTLED TO THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER AND RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. NO PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL DEFICIENCIES WERE FOUND ON THE NOSE LANDING GEAR FORK OR ANY OTHER AIRPLANE COMPONENT. THE REPORTED WIND CONDITIONS NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE WERE 15 KNOTS GUSTING TO 25 KNOTS FROM 240 DEGREES. THE DIRECTION OF LANDING WAS 140 DEGREES.
On September 13, 1993, about 1150 hours eastern daylight time, N42233, a Cessna 182L, operated by the owner/pilot, landed hard and nosed over at a private airstrip in Oxford, Massachusetts. The nose gear collapsed and the airplane was substantially damaged. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and certificated private pilot student were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The instructional flight departed from Danielson, Connecticut, about 1000 hours and was conducted under 14 CFR 91. According to an FAA aviation safety inspector, the owner of the airplane, a private pilot, was receiving a "check out" in the Cessna 182L by the CFI. During landing, the nose gear collapsed, but the airplane continued to roll on its main gear for 234 feet. An examination of the grass runway revealed initial ground tracks of the main landing gear were found next to a 14-foot ground scar and the separated nose gear. The nose then settled into the ground and the airplane flipped over. The left wing leading edge, right wing strut, vertical stabilizer, and fuselage were damaged. According to the CFI, the private pilot was on a one-quarter mile final approach for runway 14. While 50 feet above the approach end of the runway, an "extremely high sink rate was encountered due to low level wind shear." The CFI took control of the airplane. Ground contact was made "in a slightly tail low attitude" and no stall warning was heard. The nose wheel "immediately broke off approximately 250 feet later." The fractured nose landing gear fork was send to the NTSB Metallurgical Laboratory for examination. The examination did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact deficiencies.
THE FAILURE OF THE CFI TO MAINTAIN A PROPER DESCENT RATE, AND HIS DELAY IN PERFORMING REMEDIAL ACTION. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT ARE THE DOWNDRAFT, THE GUSTING WINDS, AND THE SOFT RUNWAY.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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