Cessna T206H N377ME

Summary

On 19 April 2002 at about 18:40 local time, a Cessna T206H registered N377ME was involved in an accident near Sedona, Arizona, United States. 4 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

19 April 2002 at 18:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Sedona, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Sedona (SEZ)

Coordinates

34.8486, -111.7883

Aircraft

Cessna T206H

Registration

N377ME

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Camarillo → Sedona

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA140

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the variable, gusty and crosswind conditions, which led to a bounced landing and a subsequent pilot induced porpoise oscillation. A factor in the accident was the pilot's decision to continue the landing in a crosswind component that exceeded the maximum factory demonstrated capability of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial fuselage structural damage after porpoising following a bounced landing on runway 21. The official automated surface observation system (ASOS) observation at the time of the accident included winds from 170 degrees at 19 knots with higher gusts to 26 knots, yeilding a crosswind component that varied from 12 to 19 knots. The pilot reported that the flight was smooth until about 15 minutes from landing at Sedona when turbulence was encountered. Nearing the airport, he obtained the surface weather from the ASOS recording and noted that the winds were given as from 170 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 21 variable to 190 degrees at 12 knots with higher gusts to 23. The pilot selected runway 21 and said that during the approach, "a change in airspeed of 15 knots was observable." He noted that he reduced power after touchdown and a gust of wind "lifted the aircraft off the runway and I started porpoising and hit the tail on the runway." The accident sequence was witnessed by the owner of a fixed-base operator (FBO) on the airport. He reported that the pilot was trying to land on runway 21 with a strong quartering headwind that had a significant gust component. He saw the airplane bounce off the main gear and begin a series of porpoise like pilot induced oscillations where the airplane bounced from the nose wheel to the main gear and back again, with an increasing amplitude. On the fourth porpoise, the airplane's tail struck the runway. According to the limitations section of the Cessna T206H Pilot Operating Handbook, the airplane's maximum demonstrated crosswind capability is 15 knots. Engineering personnel from Cessna reported that the 15-knot crosswind capability is not a limitation, it is only the maximum crosswind component that the aircraft was landed in during certification flight testing. The pilot's private certificate was issued on February 27, 2002. The pilot said there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.