Cessna 182 N759HD

Summary

On 7 July 2023 at about 18:51 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N759HD, operated by Wingnuts Flying Club, was involved in an accident near Richmond, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 July 2023 at 18:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Richmond, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Richmond Executive-Chesterfiel (FCI)

Coordinates

37.4100, -77.5284

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N759HD

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Wingnuts Flying Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hot Springs → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA299

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s delay in performing a go-around after a likely encounter with low-level wind shear, resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s failure to recognize the severity of the actual and forecasted weather near the airport and his continued approach to the airport with a thunderstorm and associated convective activity.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and one passenger were on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, but the pilot cancelled the IFR clearance near the destination airport and proceeded under visual flight rules (VFR) even though there were nearby thunderstorms with associated convective activity. He reported that during the approach and while in ground effect, the winds were 5 to 10 knots with no turbulence, and he had at least one notch of flaps extended. During the flare to land the airplane abruptly pitched up without command and then nosed down, bouncing the airplane off the nose. The pilot added full throttle to abort the bounced landing and climbed to the traffic pattern altitude. He performed a right turn instead of a left turn due to the location of a rain cloud on the left side of the runway. He remained in right traffic for the runway and, when preparing to flare, a wind gust pushed the airplane across the runway. He performed a go-around but, because the rain cloud was no longer on the left side of the runway, he made standard left traffic for the runway. The pilot then landed uneventfully and taxied to the ramp. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s flight controls revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on this information, it is likely that while flaring to land, the airplane encountered low-level wind shear associated with a forecasted nearby thunderstorm. The airplane then descended and landed hard on the nose landing gear, substantially damaging the airplane’s fuselage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.