Cessna 182N N9099G

Summary

On 18 July 1997 at about 01:10 local time, a Cessna 182N registered N9099G was involved in an accident near Sacramento, California, 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

18 July 1997 at 01:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Sacramento, California, United States

Nearest airport

Mather Field (MHR)

Coordinates

38.5391, -121.2794

Aircraft

Cessna 182N

Registration

N9099G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Rio Vista

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA252

Nobody was injured.

Failure of maintenance personnel to adequately repair the pitch trim system and ensure that it was properly rigged, and the pilot's failure to maintain pitch control due to the distraction at liftoff of the mistrim condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While performing the walk around inspection the pilot noted the elevator trim tab was in an elevated position. After starting the engine the pilot repositioned the trim wheel inside the cockpit to the takeoff position. During takeoff rotation the pilot eased back on the yoke and reported that the aircraft felt heavier than usual. As the aircraft came off the ground, the pilot released some of the back pressure and the aircraft struck the runway. The pilot pulled the yoke back and the aircraft bounced higher and harder. After the second bounce the pilot reduced the power, the nose wheel struck the runway and collapsed the nose landing gear. Approximately 1 month before the accident a discrepancy was reported indicating that the pitch trim wire had jumped its groove. The same facility that had worked on the aircraft the day of the accident had repaired the pitch trim wire by repositioning the pitch trim indicator to center travel in the window. The aircraft's type certificate data sheet notes that the total trim tab travel should be 43 degrees including the plus/minus tolerances. An FAA inspector examined the aircraft and found that the total trim travel available was 35 degrees. The inspector reported that the total trim travel favored the nose down attitude, but it was off-centered by only 5 degrees. The cockpit indicator was found to move easily from grove to grove.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.