Cessna U206 N9304R

Summary

On 30 June 2016 at about 18:00 local time, a Cessna U206 registered N9304R, operated by United States Department of Interior, was involved in an accident near Ely, Nevada, United States. 3 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

30 June 2016 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Ely, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Ely Arpt /Yelland Fld/ (ELY)

Coordinates

39.2994, -114.8386

Aircraft

Cessna U206

Registration

N9304R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

United States Department of Interior

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boise → Ely

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA362

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's incorrect pitch control during the landing flare, which resulted in a tail strike.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that during a public-use flight in a single-engine airplane, he was providing instruction to an airline transport pilot who was only rated for multi-engine airplanes. The flight instructor further reported that the pilot receiving instruction was the pilot flying and was "fast" on final approach. During the landing flare, the airplane ballooned and bounced once. After the bounce, the flight instructor applied aft flight control pressure because he believed the airplane was going to touch down nose wheel first. The subsequent landing roll was completed without further incident. After loading additional passengers, the flight instructor completed the return flight to their domicile without further incident. During a post-flight inspection damage was found to the tail hook and aft fuselage area. Further inspection revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the aft bulkhead, which was likely the result of a tail strike during the bounced landing during the previous flight. The flight instructor reported that he did not hear the tail strike during the bounced landing and he did not inspect the empennage before departing for the terminating destination.   The flight instructor did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.