SANDPOINT, ID, USA
N71685
Cessna 182M
The pilot was flying into a private strip that he had not familiarized himself with. Although he was not aware of it, the runway he was landing on sloped uphill. Because of the upslope, the pilot misjudged his flare and impacted the terrain hard enough to cause substantial damage to the aircraft.
On September 4, 1999, approximately 1130 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182M, N71685, was damaged during a hard landing at Bird 2 Airstrip, Sandpoint, Idaho. The commercial pilot and his three passengers were not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned by an acquaintance of the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Felts Field, Spokane, Washington, about 30 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, he was going into a private strip that he had not been to before, and prior to his landing, he was not aware that the runway sloped uphill. Because of the upslope, he misjudged his height above the ground and began his landing flare too late. The delayed flare, along with the upslope of the runway resulted in contact hard enough to damage the propeller, landing gear, and firewall structure.
The pilot's improper flare. Factors include a runway that sloped uphill, and the pilot's failure to familiarize himself with the destination airstrip prior to departure.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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