NTSB Factual Report

On December 3, 2004, at 1910 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182P, N21213, operated by Aero Flight Training as a rental airplane, received substantial damage on impact with terrain and a culvert during landing on runway 32 (4,498 feet by 60 feet, asphalt) at Belle Fourche Municipal Airport (EFC), Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The private pilot reported no injuries and three passengers sustained minor injuries. The flight originated from Front Range Airport, Denver, Colorado, at 1600, en route to EFC.

The pilot stated that following the first landing attempt on runway 32, he executed a go-around after drifting eastward while in the traffic pattern. After the go-around, the landing light circuit breaker tripped, and the landing light ceased to illuminate. He reset the circuit breaker twice and then switched the landing light off after the circuit breaker would not reset. The pilot stated that he could not get the instrument panel lights to operate, and the overhead light(s), which were red in color, did not provide enough illumination for him to see the instrument panel. The pilot stated that the right front seat passenger used a flashlight to illuminate the instrument panel, but the flashlight ceased to operate prior to the second landing attempt. During his second landing attempt on runway 32, the pilot stated that he rolled the yoke level and pulled back after the airplane touched down with the nose wheel first. The right landing gear then contacted a grass area on the eastern edge of the runway when a gust of wind moved the airplane "quickly" off the runway.

The pilot held a temporary private pilot certificate with a single-engine airplane land rating issued November 19, 2004. The pilot was issued a third class airman medical certificate on September 14, 2004, with the following limitation: "not valid for night flight or by color signal control." The pilot reported that he a total flight time of 69 hours, of which 22 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. He reported that he had 0 hours of night flight time in the accident make and model.

The airplane was a 1972 Cessna 182P, serial number 18261492, powered by a Continental O-470 series engine. Inspection of the airplane revealed that the front seats were equipped with seat belts and shoulder harnesses, and the rear seats were equipped with seat belts and no shoulder harnesses.

Inspection of the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane contacted runway 32 approximately 500 feet down the runway and exited off the east side about 1,000 feet down the runway where it impacted a taxiway embankment and a cement culvert. According to the FAA inspector, the pilot stated that the airplane bounced once and then veered off the runway.

FAA inspection of the airplane revealed the flaps were extended 30 degrees. The inspector operated the landing light for about 30 seconds and noted that none of the instrument panel light(s) illuminated, and the overhead light(s) illuminated. No circuit breakers tripped during this operation.

According to the FAA inspector, the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing from a Flight Service Station, but he "looked" at a computer instead. The pilot stated to the inspector that he did not know there were winds at the airport prior to his departure. According of the FAA inspector, witnesses reported that the winds were from the west-northwest at an unspecified speed with one witness at EFC reporting that about 1600 the winds were from the northwest about 20-25 knots. The pilot stated, as an estimate, that the winds were from the southwest at 5 knots with gusts at 15 knots.

U.S Naval Observatory sun and moon data for December 3, 2004, Denver Colorado, states that sunset occurred at 1636 and the end of civil twilight occurred at 1706. Sun and moon data for Rapid City, South Dakota, states that sunset occurred at 1615 and the end of civil twilight occurred at 1648.

According to 14 CFR Part 1, Definitions and Abbreviations, "night means the time between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the American Air Almanac, converted to local time."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions and his failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors were the gusting crosswind, the pilot's lack of night flying of experience, the inoperative instrument lights, and the night conditions.