CHI98LA246
1998-07-09 · MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport MCD
Current FAA registration · N42184
- Make / Model
- CESSNA 182L
- Year of manufacture
- 1968 · 30 years old at event
- Engine
- CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 4 seats · 1 engine
- Last airworthiness date
- 19680315
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S A502E3
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to attain a stabilized approach and a touchdown point. The factors contributing to the accident were the pilot in command's improper use of flaps and his not performing a go-around. An additional factor was the pilot in command not using all available runway during landing roll. The fence post which the aircraft impacted was also a factor.
Factual narrative
On July 9, 1998, at 2115 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182L, N42184, piloted by a private pilot, received substantial damage on impact with poles during a landing overrun on runway 26 (3501' x 75', dry/asphalt) at Mackinac Island Airport, on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating on a VFR flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed New Hudson Airport, near New Hudson, Michigan, at 1915. In a written statement, the pilot reported that he had selected 20 degrees and 40 degrees of flaps on base and final, respectively. He had flared over the runway numbers and was carried 1/3 down the runway at which point he realized that the flaps were not extended and that the airspeed was approximately 80 KIAS. He had considered a go-around but did not trust his flaps. He also stated that the aircraft touched down 1/2 down the runway and had little braking action due to his speed and the down slope of the runway. In trying to avoid a fence and gravel piles at the end of the runway, he turned the aircraft to the right. The aircraft stopped after impacting with a fence and poles at the northwest corner of the airport. The pilot told the airport manager that he was 1/2 down the runway when he realized that the flaps were not extended. Examination of the airplane revealed that the flap selector and associated indicator were at 0 degrees. As a functional check, the airport manager successfully cycled the flaps three times through 0 degrees, 10 degrees, 20 degrees and 40 degrees. The Cessna 182 owner's manual shows the ground roll distance, at a gross weight of 2800 lbs, an approach speed of 69 mph and a flap setting of 40 degrees at sea level conditions, to be 590 feet. Based upon a conversation with the pilot, the weight of the aircraft at the time of the accident was reported to be less than 2800 lbs. The airplane received substantial damage on impact with poles during a landing overrun on runway 26 (3501' x 75', dry/asphalt) at Mackinac Island Airport, on Mackinac Island, Michigan. The pilot reported the he had selected 20 degrees and 40 degrees of flaps on base and final respectively. He did not realize that the flaps were up until 1/3 down the runway at which point the airspeed was 80 KIAS. He had also stated that the aircraft touched down 1/2 down the runway. Upon examination of the aircraft, the flaps selector and associated indicator were indicating 0 degrees. A functional check was successfully performed three times by cycling the flaps through 0 degrees, 10 degrees, 20 degrees and 40 degrees. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1998_CHI98LA246.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Search this event elsewhere
External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
- NTSB CAROL Agency ↗
- NTSB Docket Agency ↗
- Aviation Safety Network Aviation press ↗
- Kathryn's Report Aviation press ↗
- Aviation Herald Aviation press ↗
- AVweb Aviation press ↗
- Pilots of America Community ↗
- Reddit /r/flying Community ↗
- FlightAware Aviation press ↗
- AOPA accident database Aviation press ↗
- Google News News ↗
- DuckDuckGo News ↗
Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (Journal of Safety Research) Go-around accidents and general aviation safety.
INTRODUCTION Changes in General Aviation (GA) accident rates, specifically in the go-around phase, are examined by comparing the number of accidents, the proportion of fatal accidents, and the proport…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aerospace) Classification and Analysis of Go-Arounds in Commercial Aviation Using ADS-B Data
Go-arounds are a necessary aspect of commercial aviation and are conducted after a landing attempt has been aborted. It is necessary to conduct go-arounds in the safest possible manner, as go-arounds …
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes) Go-Around Criteria Refinement for Transport Category Aircraft
Presently, airline pilots are trained to go around if, when lower than 500 ft above the ground, they are outside of a handful of parameters such as airspeed, position, and rate of descent.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Validation of Proposed Go-Around Criteria Under Various Environmental Conditions
This paper evaluates the effects of environmental conditions on touchdown performance under varying approach states and validates proposed go-around criteria developed using data from a previously con…