N5202N

On January 18, 2004, at 1040 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182Q, N5202N, owned and operated by the Civil Air Patrol, Inc., and piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at St. George Municipal Airport (SGU), St. George, Utah. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger on board the airplane were not injured. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The local flight originated at approximately 1015.

The pilot reported that he was performing touch and go landings. On his third landing, the pilot said the airplane touched down normally, but then became airborne again. The pilot said he delayed putting the power in, thinking the airplane would settle. The airplane's nose dropped and the nose gear hit the runway resulting in a bounced landing. The pilot executed a go around, flew the airplane around the pattern, and made an uneventful full stop landing.

An inspection of the airplane after the flight revealed that the lower right side of the firewall was bent aft. The right side fuselage, aft of the fuselage/firewall intersection was wrinkled to just aft of the static port, and one propeller blade was bent aft at the blade tip. Flight control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the engine, engine controls, and other airplane systems revealed no anomalies.

Wind conditions at the time of the accident were 090 degrees at 3 knots.