Cessna 180K N37MD accident near Port Orange, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions during landing. Contributing to the accident were the gusting wind conditions and the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model airplane.

NTSB analysis

The pilot, who recently acquired the airplane, was receiving instruction for insurance purposes. After performing some airwork, the pilot returned to the traffic pattern for landing practice and joined a left downwind leg for runway 23. On short final, he lowered flaps to 40 degrees and the airplane slowed to 60 knots. At 15 feet above ground level, the airplane "came down hard" on the runway numbers. The left and right main landing gear failed and the airplane received structural damage to the lower fuselage. The pilot reported that the winds at the time of the accident were from 235 degrees at 10 knots, with gusts to 15 knots. He also reported that windshear occurred and they were unable to react quickly enough to prevent the hard landing. The reported wind at a nearby airport about the time of the accident was from 280 degrees at 15 knots. The pilot reported total flight experience of 1,354 hours, of which 3 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane and 3 hours were flown during the 90-day period preceding the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA09CA127 for the full record.