Cessna 182J accident near Punta Gorda, Florida, October 16, 2005
On October 16, 2005 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna 182J, registered N3588F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Punta Gorda, Florida (Punta Gorda 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 inadequate remedial action following an encounter with wind gusts during the landing flare resulting in a hard landing and damage to the nose landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 16, 2005 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Punta Gorda, Florida · Punta Gorda · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182J · all 182Js on the register
- Registration
- N3588F · registry record · serial 18257588
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that after flying 40 minutes he elected to return to the departure airport with a planned landing on runway 03. The winds at the time were reported to be from 010 degrees to 040 degrees at 9 knots, gusting to 14 knots. During the flare for landing just before touchdown, a gust of wind, "lifted me back in the air then slammed me back to the runway." As a result of the firm landing, the nose landing gear was bent to the left. He taxied the airplane off the runway onto the grass.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,000 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KPGD Punta Gorda FL
- Destination: KPGD Punta Gorda FL
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 3
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.