Cessna 120 N76097

Summary

On 16 July 2014 at about 20:15 local time, a Cessna 120 registered N76097, operated by Kepner Charles M, was involved in an accident near Midland, Michigan, 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

16 July 2014 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Midland, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Private (N/A)

Coordinates

43.6631, -84.2614

Aircraft

Cessna 120

Registration

N76097

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Kepner Charles M

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midland → Mount Pleasant

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14CA370

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed and his delayed application of engine power while on short final which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he kept the airspeed to a minimum while on short final because he intended to conduct a short field landing. He reported that as the tailwheel equipped airplane cleared the trees on the approach end of the runway, a "significant sink rate" developed. The pilot applied power, but it was insufficient to arrest the descent rate. The airplane landed hard on the main wheels and the propeller impacted the grass runway. The airplane nosed over during the landing roll which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall and empennage. The pilot reported that there was no malfunction or system failure of the airplane before the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.