Accident Details
On July 20, 2014, about 1540 central daylight time, a Cessna 177B single-engine airplane, registration N5511B, sustained substantial damage during a landing at Georgetown Municipal Airport (GTU) in Georgetown, Texas. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. The flight, conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight, had departed from Lancaster Regional Airport (LNC) in Lancaster, Texas, about 1430. Day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
An air traffic controller witnessed the accident and reported that the airplane bounced during the landing. On the second touchdown, the nose of the airplane was aligned well to the left of the runway centerline. Directional control was then lost, and the airplane exited the left side of the runway surface, flipped, and came to rest inverted. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the vertical fin, rudder, empennage, fuselage, and wing.
Aftermath
The right door was jammed from the impact damage, and the pilot and passenger exited the inverted airplane through the left door. There was no postimpact fire. An examination found no preaccident mechanical deficiencies with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Weather
At 1540, the automated weather observing system at GTU reported wind from 170 degrees at 9 knots, visibility of 10 miles, few clouds at 3,200 feet, temperature 33 degrees Celsius, dew point 24 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.94 inches of mercury.