Cessna 177 N177JM

Summary

On 27 May 1996 at about 00:15 local time, a Cessna 177 registered N177JM was involved in an accident near Corvallis, Oregon, United States. One person was 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

27 May 1996 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Corvallis, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Corvallis Municipal (CVO)

Coordinates

44.4598, -123.3391

Aircraft

Cessna 177

Registration

N177JM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA96LA101

Nobody was injured.

failure of the pilot to properly judge the distance and altitude to the runway just before touching down, and his premature flare for landing. Factors relating to the accident were: the presence of sun glare during the landing, and the resultant degradation of the pilot's visual perception.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that while he was on 'short final' for runway 27 at the Corvallis Municipal Airport, the sun 'came from behind a cloud with some glare and visibility problems....' He stated that he 'could not tell [the airplane's] height [above the runway] accurately.' He stated that he began to flare for landing after he 'judged that the dark pavement was just below.' The airplane landed hard on the main landing gear and porpoised forward onto the nose gear. The nose gear collapsed and the firewall was substantially damaged. No preimpact mechanical deficiency was reported.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.