Accident Overview
On July 10, 2012, about 0930 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 177B airplane, registration N30753, was substantially damaged while landing at Gooding Municipal Airport (GNG) in Gooding, Idaho. The certified private pilot sustained serious injuries, and the sole passenger was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, and a visual flight rules flight plan had been filed and was active.
Flight History
The flight departed Yakima Air Terminal/McAllister Field (YKM), Yakima, Washington, about 0630 MDT, with GNG as its destination. In a postaccident conversation and in a report to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that no adverse winds were reported as she monitored the UNICOM frequency about 10 miles out while proceeding inbound to GNG.
Pilot Report of the Sequence
The pilot stated that when she reported 3 miles and 2 miles from the airport, no turbulence was encountered, and that the approach was on the center line of the runway and on the glide path, and that the approach was normal. After crossing over the approach end of the runway, she pulled the power to idle and began to flare, at which time the airplane’s left wing was abruptly pushed upward. This was followed by the right main tire contacting the runway, the nose wheel hitting the runway, and the left main landing gear hitting the runway hard. The airplane then bounced into the weeds off the right side of the runway before going into a small ditch. The pilot added power and managed to get the airplane back onto the runway and taxi to a fixed based operator’s facility, where she inspected the airplane.
Damage Assessment
The pilot reported that the firewall was bent and the left side of the fuselage was wrinkled. She further stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane or the engine prior to or during the flight that would have precluded normal operation.
Weather Conditions
At 0953, the weather reporting facility at Jerome County Airport Idaho (JER), about 18 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, reported wind from 100 degrees at 9 knots, with no gusts.