Event NYC02LA134

Factual narrative

On July 11, 2002, about 1345 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N1502E, was substantially damaged while landing at the Greenwood Lake Airport (4N1), West Milford, New Jersey. The certificated flight instructor, and both passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the promotional flight that departed the Essex County Airport, (CDW), Fairfield, New Jersey, about 1315. A flight plan was not filed, and the flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the flight instructor, he over flew 4N1, and identified that the winds favored runway 24. He entered a left downwind for the runway, selected flaps to 10 degrees, turned base, and then final. On final, the VASI was white over white, and just prior to touching down, the pilot noticed the airspeed increase from approximately 75 to 90 knots. The airplane touched down, bounced "high" into the air, and then touched down nosewheel first about 20 feet left of centerline. The airplane "veered" left, exited the runway, and continued approximately 470 feet before coming to a stop on the parallel taxiway. The pilot added that he did not experience any preimpact failures with either the engine or the airframe, and that he elected not to execute a go-around because of a cliff located at the departure end of runway 24. A weather observation was taken 8 minutes before the accident at CDW, which was located 21 miles to the southeast of the accident site. According to the observation, the wind was 030 degrees at 7 knots, visibility was 10 miles, sky clear, temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point was 43 degrees Fahrenheit, and the altimeter setting was 30.11 inches of mercury. The flight instructor over flew the airport, and identified runway 24 as the favored runway. He entered left downwind, selected flaps to 10 degrees, turned base, and then final. On final, the VASI was white over white. The airplane touched down, bounced "high" into the air, and then touched down nosewheel first about 20 feet left of centerline. The airplane "veered" left, exited the runway, and continued approximately 470 feet before coming to a stop on the parallel taxiway. The pilot did not experience any preimpact failures with either the engine or the airframe, and elected not to execute a go-around because of a cliff located at the departure end of the runway. A weather observation taken 8 minutes before the accident about 21 miles to the southeast of the accident site recorded the wind as 030 degrees at 7 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12