Incident Overview
On 10 October 2002 at 1230Z, a Cessna 177A, registration ZS-FPK, was involved in an incident during landing at Warmbaths Aerodrome (S24°54′29″ E028°18′16″). The aircraft was on a private VFR flight from Lanseria Aerodrome, carrying the pilot and one passenger. No injuries were reported and there were no fatalities.
Flight Sequence
The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, departed Lanseria Aerodrome en route to Warmbaths Aerodrome on a VFR day flight. On approach for Runway 03 at approximately 5600 feet ASL altitude with 20° flaps and an airspeed of about 90 MPH, the pilot turned the aircraft to the right for descent to the eastern side of the field to 4600 feet. Seeing that he was still too high, he reduced power slightly, selected 30° flaps, and maintained an airspeed of approximately 85-90 MPH.
The aircraft touched down at about 70 MPH and bounced five times. The pilot stated that he pushed the nose down to see the runway and used the rudders to keep the aircraft straight with the runway heading and wings level. The pilot lost control of the aircraft just after it slowed down on the runway. He stopped, backtracked to Runway 03, taxied off to the right of the runway, parked, and shut off the engine. A post-flight walk-around revealed that the propeller blades were damaged at the tips.
Aircraft Damage
The only damage reported was to the propeller blades at the tips. The aircraft itself was otherwise intact.
Weather Conditions
Meteorological conditions were fine, with wind from 350 degrees at 6-8 knots, temperature 28°C, and good visibility.
Probable Cause
Due to a slightly high approach, high landing speed and limited experience on aircraft type, the pilot applied the wrong landing technique by pushing the nose down, resulting in several bounces and subsequent propeller contact with the runway.