Incident Overview
On July 4, 2025, at approximately 0900 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182B (registration N7166E) was substantially damaged during a landing at an airport near Belen, New Mexico. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Pilot Report
According to the pilot, during the takeoff roll, the airplane became airborne prematurely when the airspeed indicator displayed 40 knots. The pilot attributed this to ground effect and leveled the airplane to gain airspeed, but the indicated airspeed did not increase. While in ground effect, the ground speed increased and the airplane felt like it wanted to climb. Near the end of the available runway, the pilot concluded the airspeed indicator was not displaying correctly and initiated a climb while the airspeed continued to indicate 40 knots.
The pilot remained within the airport traffic pattern for runway 03. On downwind, the indicated airspeed rose to 60 knots, but on final, it decreased to 40 knots. During the landing, the airplane bounced and subsequently landed hard on the nose landing gear.
Damage
Post-accident examination revealed substantial damage to the forward fuselage and engine mount. The wreckage was retained for further examination.