Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot-in-command did not maintain the proper glidepath.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot-in-command (pic) landed approximately 20 feet short of a privately owned 1800 ft. X 60 ft. Airstrip. The pic reported a total pilot time of 80 hours of which about 70 were in the accident aircraft.
Source record
Factual narrative
On December 07, 1993, at approximately 1045 Alaska standard time, a wheel equipped Cessna 177 (Cardinal), N29532, owned and operated by the pilot-in-command, landed short of a privately owned airstrip located approximately 55 miles south of Northway, Alaska. The pilot received minor injuries and his wife, the sole passenger, was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 pleasure flight departed Tok, Alaska at approximately 0933 and the intended destination was the private landing strip. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and there was no flight plan in effect. During a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on the afternoon of December 07, 1993, the pilot-in-command said that the accident flight was his first landing attempt at the 1800 ft. x 60 ft. strip. He believed that he had a good approach and thought "I had it made". The airplane landed approximately 20 feet short of the runway substantially damaging the main landing gear and right wing assembly. The pilot reported that his total pilot time was about 80 hours of which approximately 70 were in the Cessna 177. -