Cessna 182A accident near Grosse Ile, Michigan, August 12, 2001
On August 12, 2001 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna 182A, registered N4080D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grosse Ile, Michigan (Grosse Ile Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Both the CFI and the student pilot on board improperly flared the airplane and the CFI's failure to perform remedial action during the landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 12, 2001 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Grosse Ile, Michigan · Grosse Ile Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182A · all 182As on the register
- Registration
- N4080D · registry record · serial 34780
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane bounced hard during landing. The CFI reported that during the approach he noticed that the student "was not in position to safely land a/c" and he repeatedly "ordered" the student to relinquish the flight controls, but the student did not. He reported that the result was a hard landing. The student pilot reported that he and the CFI were wearing noise reduction ear plugs. He stated that both he and the CFI were on the flight controls during the flight and the landing. The student stated that no commands were given during the landing. The back seat passenger was also a pilot. He reported that both the CFI and the student had their hands on the flight controls during the landing. He reported the airplane hit hard on the runway, bounced 15 feet in the air, then came down hard on the nose gear, striking the propeller on the runway. He reported the airplane oscillated several more times and the student pushed the throttle forward as if to go around. He reported he shouted from the backseat "shut it down - we're finished." The power was reduced to idle and the airplane was stopped on the runway. The back seat passenger's perception of the student pilot was that he seemed "overly confident and aggressive with regard to his piloting abilities." The student had not had any "formal" training in the Cessna 182. The student reported the purpose of the flight was to attend a fly-in breakfast at Oscoda, not flight instruction.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 2,400 as pilot in command; 1,100 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 14, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Other crew
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OSC Oscoda MI at 4:30 pm
- Destination: ONZ Grosse Ile MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 4,425 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 5:54 pm from DTW, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.