Cessna R182 accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, June 21, 2012
On June 21, 2012 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna R182, registered N4702R, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Santa Teresa, New Mexico (Dona Ana County Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to ensure that the landing gear was down and locked before landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 21, 2012 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Teresa, New Mexico · Dona Ana County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna R182 · all R182s on the register
- Registration
- N4702R · no longer on the register · serial R18200605
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, before turning onto a base leg in the airport traffic pattern, he lowered the landing gear and selected the flaps to 10 degrees. He reported that the green landing gear position light illuminated after the landing gear extended and that, while on the base leg, when he selected the flaps to 20 degrees he visually confirmed that the left main landing gear was extended. Shortly after touchdown, the left main landing gear began to retract, followed by the right main landing gear. The airplane then veered off the left side of the runway. During the postaccident recovery, as the airplane was lifted off the ground, the main landing gear fully extended, without electrical power supplied, into the down-and-locked position. The landing gear was checked and all three down-lock assemblies appeared to be properly engaged. The airplane was subsequently placed onto jack stands, and no anomalies were observed as the landing gear was cycled several times using the airplane's electro-hydraulic system. Testing of the landing gear position indicating system confirmed that the green position light would not illuminate until all three landing gear were fully extended into a down-and-locked position. The postaccident examination did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have resulted in the main landing gear collapse. In the absence of landing gear extension system mechanical failures or malfunctions, and given the collapse of the main landing gear upon touchdown, it is likely that the landing gear was still transitioning into to a fully extended position at touchdown. Although contrary to the pilot’s account of the accident sequence, the most likely accident scenario is that the pilot did not extend the landing gear with sufficient time to ensure that it fully extended before landing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear not configured during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not used/operated
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 525 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 136 in the last 90 days; 83 in the last 30 days; 503 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 30, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,406 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 20, 2011
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-J3C5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Marine Military Academy (Air Wing), Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KBTF Bountiful UT at 5:30 pm
- Destination: 5T6 Santa Teresa NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 10, 9,549 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 100°F (38°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 pm from 5T6
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.