20251009015589A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Cessna 180H · Imnaha, OR · October 9, 2025

Date
October 9, 2025 · 14:30 local
Place
Imnaha, OR
Airport
Lord Flat
Phase of flight
Other, Specify
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N249MD
NTSB investigation
NTSBWPR26LA018
Reported as
Cessna 180H
Reported engine
Continental O-470 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
1
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
760 total333 in this make and model20 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The pilot elected to takeoff with a tailwind, on a rough one-way-out downsloping runway, and when it became apparent, he needed to abort, he applied brakes, but at the same time the airplane became airborne and quickly touched back down with brakes still applied, causing the aircraft to noseover, resting upside down.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT ELECTED TO TAKEOFF WITH A TAILWIND, ON A ROUGH ONE-WAY-OUT DOWNSLOPING RUNWAY, AND WHEN IT BECAME APPARENT, HE NEEDED TO ABORT, HE APPLIED BRAKES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE AIRPLANE BECAME AIRBORNE AND QUICKLY TOUCHED BACK DOWN WITH BRAKES STILL APPLIED, CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO NOSEOVER, RESTING UPSIDE DOWN.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.