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NYC03LA086

2003-04-16 · Blacksburg, Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BCB

Current FAA registration · N21520

Make / Model
CESSNA 182P
Year of manufacture
1973 · 30 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19730131
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A1CECC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper flare and his improper recovery from a bounced landing.

Factual narrative

On April 16, 2003, at 1250 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182P, N21520, was substantially damaged while landing at the Virginia Tech Airport (BCB), Blacksburg, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, he had attempted three landings to runway 30, a 4,539-foot long, 100-foot wide, asphalt runway. The first two attempts resulted in a go-around. During the third landing attempt, the airplane touched down hard and bounced back into the air. The airplane touched down hard again, with the propeller striking the runway, before coming to rest upright on the runway. When a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the wreckage, he observed substantial damage to the engine compartment firewall. The inspector did not observe any mechanical deficiencies with the airplanes flight controls. The pilot reported 80 hours of total flight experience in make and model airplane. The winds recorded at a nearby airport about the time of accident, were from 270 degrees at 5 knots. The pilot had attempted three landings, with the first two attempts resulting in a go-around. During the third landing attempt, the airplane touched down hard and bounced back into the air. The airplane touched down hard again, with the propeller striking the runway, before coming to rest upright on the runway. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical deficiencies with the airplanes flight controls. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2003_NYC03LA086.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers