# Accident 19980415006899A: Cessna 180J, Ashland, WI, April 15, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 15, 1998, 08:40 local time
- Place: Ashland, WI
- Airport: John F Kennedy Memorial Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 46.5699° N, 90.8702° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.5699&lon=-90.8702&mi=10
- Aircraft: N828CE, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N828CE-1998-11-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 180J (registry code 2072622, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180j) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 180J
- Reported engine: CONT O470R
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 11,725 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98FA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA123) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980415006899A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ACFT CRASHED ON TAKEOFF UNDER UNK CIRCUMSTANCES, PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJ, ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE. (.4)A WITNESS HEARD THE PILOT CALL ON THE RADIO AND ASK, 'IS THE COFFEE ON?'  THE WITNESS TOLD THE PILOT THAT THE COFFEE WAS ON.  THE PILOT RESPONDED, 'WELL THEN, I'LL COME IN.'  THE NEXT THING THE WITNESS RECALLED WAS A LOUD SOUND OF AN AIRPLANE ENGINE AND THEN THE SOUND OF THINGS BREAKING.  THE WITNESS RAN OUTSIDE OF THE HANGAR AND SAW THE AIRPLANE GOING AWAY FROM HIM IN A LEVEL, GRADUAL CLIMB.  THE AIRPLANE BEGAN A LEFT TURN AND ROLL.  THE AIRPLANE REACHED THE TOP OF ITS CLIMB AND THEN CAME STRAIGHT DOWN IN A COMBINATION OF A CONTINUAL ROLL AND A SPIN.  EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THAT THE TOPS OF THREE WATER BIRCH TREES, LOCATED 75 FEET FROM THE SOUTHEAST EDGE OF A RAMP, ON THE AIRPORT'S NORTHEAST SIDE, WERE SHEARED OFF THROUGH THE TRUNKS, APPROXIMATELY 25 FEET UP FROM THEIR BASES. THE OUTBOARD 4 FEET OF THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT WING WAS FOUND ON THE RAMP, APPROXIMATELY 130 FEET FROM THE TREES.  PIECES OF TREE TRUNKS, TREE BRANCHES, AND THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT AILERON FANNED OUT FROM THE TREES IN A SOUTHWESTERLY DIRECTION.  N                                               O OTHER ANOMALIES WERE FOUND. (-23) WITNESSES DESCRIBE A HIGH-SPEED LOW PASS BY A CORPORATE HANGAR WHERE FRIENDS OF THE PILOT WORKED.  LEFT WING STRUCK TREES JUST OFF NW EDGE OF THAT HANGAR'S RAMP, SEPARATING 4 FEET OF LEFT WING AND LEFT AILERON.  AIRCRAFT OBSERVED ENTERING STEEP CLIMB FOLLOWED BY DIVE TO GROUND.  EXTENSIVE POST-IMPACT FIRE.  FLIGHT CONTROL CABLES REMAINED CONNECTED AND OPERABLE.  ENGINE FOUND TO PRODUCE COMPRESSION ON ALL CYLINDERS, AND CRANK TURNED FREELY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI98FA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA123), Apr 15, 1998: Cessna 180J (N828CE), Ashland, WI, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot failing to maintain separation from the trees. Factors contributing to this accident were the trees and the pilot being too low in altitude.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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