# Accident 20021013028869A: Cessna 170B, Watkinsville, GA, October 13, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 13, 2002, 13:00 local time
- Place: Watkinsville, GA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8333° N, 83.3333° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8333&lon=-83.3333&mi=10
- Aircraft: N170LB (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 170B
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL03LA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL03LA004) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021013028869A

## Narrative

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

(-23) RECEIVED A CALL ON OCT 15 AT 1130 HRS FROM ROBERT WHEELER REPORTING THAT HIS AIRCRAFT HAD SUSTAINED LANDING GEAR DAMAGE DURING AN ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF FROM A GRASS FIELD LOCATED 13 MILES SOUTH OF WATKINSVILLE ON COLLHAM FERRY ROAD. DROVE TO THE FIELD AT 1400 HRS ON OCT 15 AND FOUND A CESSNA 170B, N170LB, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD RESTING ON THE LEFT WING TIP WITH THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL HUB BROKEN OFF AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR STRUT DUG INTO THE GROUND. THE PILOT, MR. ROBERT WHEELER, CERT. NO. 1445341, STATED THAT UPON TAKEOFF FROM THE FIELD HIS RIGHT MAIN WHEEL HIT AN ANTHILL CAUSING THE ALUMINUM WHEEL PANT TO JAM AGAINST THE RIGHT TIRE AND THE AIRCRAFT TO BEGIN PULLING HARD TO THE RIGHT. MR. WHEELER APPLIED HEAVY BRAKE TO COMPENSATE BUT THE JAMMED TIRE PULLED THE AIRCRAFT FROM ITS TAKEOFF PATH OF 188 DEGREES HARD TO THE RIGHT AT WHICH TIME THE LEFT HUB BROKE OFF, CAUSING THE WING TO HIT THE GROUND, THE STRUT TO DIG IN AND THE AIRCRAFT TO COME TO A REST AT 105 DEGREES.

## 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 ATL03LA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL03LA004), Oct 13, 2002: Cessna 170B (N170LB), Watkinsville, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent collision with an ant hill during takeoff that resulted in a ground loop and the subsequent collision collision with the ground. A factor was unsuitable terrain.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.