N2971X

On October 25. 1997, at 1021 central daylight time, a Cessna 177 airplane, N2971X, was destroyed by a post-crash fire following a collision with a parked front end loader during an aborted landing at Boerne Stage Field Airport, Boerne, Texas. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal local flight that departed the airport at 1000.

During a telephone interview, conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC), and in the attached NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, the pilot stated that on the morning of the accident, the sky was overcast and the winds were from 200 degrees at 4 to 6 knots. He completed "two uneventful landings" on runway 17, and his third circuit of the traffic pattern was "uneventful" until on final approach, he noticed an increase in speed, possibly indicating the wind had shifted to a tailwind. He extended the flaps from 10 to 30 degrees and then to 40 degrees as the airplane crossed the runway threshold.

The pilot reported that as he flared the airplane, it was "slammed" into the ground, bounced, then "slammed" down again, and bounced "5 to 6 feet into the air." He further reported that he initiated a go-around by adding power and raising the flaps to 10 degrees. According to the pilot, the airplane "would not climb," began "drifting left," and "would not respond to [his] control inputs." The pilot's next recollection was "hitting a front end loader parked 200 feet left of the runway." He stated that he "exited the aircraft unassisted" and received burns on his legs due to fuel that "poured on [him] from the left fuel tank."

The pilot stated that he had made one previous flight in the airplane with the owner about 1 to 2 weeks prior to the accident flight. The flight with the owner had lasted less than an hour and, with the exception of the accident flight, was his only flight experience in a Cessna 177. The pilot commented that he may not have been "fully familiar with the stabilator tail" of the Cessna 177.

According to the written statements of three witnesses, the airplane touched down on runway 17, bounced, and "started to porpoise." The pilot added power, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. Two of the witnesses then lost sight of the airplane. The third witness momentarily lost sight of the airplane, went to the corner of his hangar, and observed the airplane at an altitude of "about 8 to 10 feet AGL" collide with a parked front end loader. The airplane then impacted the ground and "burst into flames."

FAA inspectors who examined the accident site found a series of intermittent scrape marks and ground scars that began at a point on the runway approximately 856 feet from the threshold, departed the left side of the runway at the midfield taxiway (1056 feet from the threshold), and continued across a grassy area and the parallel taxiway before terminating near the airplane. The airplane came to rest approximately 120 feet east of the centerline of runway 17 and 1,584 feet south of the threshold. It was lying upright on a southerly heading adjacent to the front end loader, which was parked on the east side of the parallel taxiway. For further details refer to the attached wreckage diagram prepared by the FAA inspectors.

According to the FAA inspectors, the post-crash fire consumed the left wing, instrument panel, cockpit, cabin, and aft fuselage of the airplane. The stabilator, vertical stabilizer, rudder, right wing, and engine were not consumed by the fire. A control continuity check was performed by the inspectors with no discrepancies noted.

Review of the National Weather Service Surface Analysis Chart for 1000 on the day of the accident by an NTSB meteorologist revealed that a trough of low pressure, preceding a cold front, extended on a north-south line from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to east of San Antonio to Alice, Texas. The trough was moving eastward across Texas. Winds along the trough and ahead of the cold front were generally southerly with wind speeds of 10 knots or less. Behind the cold front, strong gusting west-northwesterly winds were reported.

There were no surface weather observations taken at Boerne Stage Field Airport. At 1021 and 1056, the reported winds at San Antonio International Airport, located 17 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, were 210 degrees at 9 knots and 240 degrees at 7 knots, respectively. At 1008 and 1059, the reported winds at Hondo Municipal Airport, located 33 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, were 180 degrees at 3 knots and 260 degrees at 6 knots, respectively. At 0953 and 1053, the reported winds at Kimble County Airport, located 73 miles northwest of the accident site, were 300 degrees at 17 gusting to 23 knots and 300 degrees at 19 gusting to 23 knots, respectively. For further details refer to the Meteorological Factual Report.