Cessna R182 accident near Vero Beach, Florida, December 4, 2014
On December 4, 2014 at about 5:18 pm local time, a 1979 Cessna R182, registered N756EB, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Vero Beach, Florida (Vero Beach Muni 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper landing flare, resulting in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 4, 2014 · about 5:18 pm local time
- Place
- Vero Beach, Florida · Vero Beach Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna R182, built 1979 · all R182s on the register
- Registration
- N756EB · registry record · serial R18201046
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the conclusion of a local flight, the pilot returned to his home airport and approached the runway for landing. The airplane touched down on the runway with the main landing gear, bounced back into the air, and touched down a second time, with the nose landing gear striking the runway first. The nose landing gear tire then separated from the landing gear, and the airplane continued down the runway on the wheel's rim. The remaining lower portion of the landing gear subsequently broke away from the airplane, and the airplane eventually came to a stop on the runway. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors examined the runway and airplane following the accident and estimated that the distance between the airplane's initial impact and where it eventually came to rest was about 300 feet. The separated portions of the nose landing gear were recovered from that portion of the runway, including the tire, wheel rim, landing gear fork, and up-position microswitch. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation, and that the firewall and lower portion of the fuselage had been substantially damaged.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Incorrect use/operation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,834 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 853 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,301 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 20, 2014; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 4,670 hours total
- Operator: Fj & B Aero LLC
The flight
- Departed from: VRB Vero Beach FL at 4:30 pm
- Destination: VRB Vero Beach FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 04, 4,974 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from KVRB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
Other NTSB records under N756EB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA15CA074.