NYC96LA185

Factual narrative

On September 16, 1996, about 1800 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182, N737MD, was substantially damaged during a landing at The Minuteman Airport, Stow, Massachusetts. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight which had departed from Worcester, Massachusetts about 1745, and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. In the NTSB Accident report, the pilot stated: "...Decided I would practice a short field landing on runway 30 (1600 [feet long]). The wind sock was hanging limp, but I discovered later that that I had bout 2-3 knots tail wind. Also I did not know the grass was wet. The first approach was high and I made a normal go-around. The second one (I thought) was OK, but I was a little bit high and fast. When I saw the landing wasn't going to work, it was too late to go around. I went into the pond at the end of the runway at about 10 mph." The nose landing gear was bent rearward, and the firewall was wrinkled. The pilot was practicing a short field landing on a 1600 foot long turf runway. He reported that his first approach was high, and he made a go-around. He described the second approach as a little fast and long. He was unable to stop by the end of the runway, and the airplane went off the departure end and into a pond. During the occurrence, the nose landing gear was bent rearward, and the firewall was wrinkled. The pilot also reported that he was not aware that the grass was wet or that he had a tailwind of 2 to 3 mph during touchdown. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12