# NTSB ANC00LA123: Cessna 120, N72775, Iliamna, AK, September 14, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 13, 2000, 21:00 local (Sep 14, 2000, 05:00 UTC) - Place: Iliamna, AK - Coordinates: 59.850887, -154.55928 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=59.8509&lon=-154.5593&mi=10 - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 10, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 50261 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC00LA123 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50261/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC00LA123 ## Probable cause A failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane. Factors in the accident were the passenger's inadvertent interference with the controls, and a ditch along the runway. ## Analysis The private certificated pilot was landing a tailwheel-equipped airplane. During the landing roll, the passenger's feet became entangled in the rudder pedals. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, went into a ditch, and nosed over. The airplane received damage to the propeller, the vertical stabilizer, and the left wing lift strut. The wind was calm. ## Factual narrative On September 13, 2000, about 2100 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 120 airplane, N72775, sustained substantial damage during landing at the Iliamna Airport, Iliamna Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight to Naknek, Alaska, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The private certificated pilot was not injured. The sole passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Homer Airport, Homer, Alaska, at 1900. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 14, the pilot reported that while en route to Naknek, she decided to land at Iliamna for the evening. The pilot said she touched down on runway 35, and during the landing roll, the passenger's feet became entangled in the rudder pedals. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, went into a ditch, and nosed over. The airplane received damage to the propeller, the vertical stabilizer, and the left wing lift strut. At 2053, an automated weather observation system (AWOS) at Iliamna was reporting, in part: Wind, calm; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, 4,400 feet broken, 5,500 feet overcast; temperature, 46 degrees F; dew point, 42 degrees F; altimeter, 29.44 inHg. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N72775](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N72775), registered now, S/N 9958, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 120 - Registry model: [Cessna 120](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-120) (registry code 2071402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C85 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (registry code 17008, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 9958 - Airframe hours: 2400 - Engines: Lycoming O-235 115 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Jeri Haskell - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 1, 1997 - Departed: PAHO, HOMER, AK - Destination: 5NK, NAKNEK, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PAIL, Iliamna, runway 35, 4,800 × 150 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 275 total, 237 in this make and model, 275 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,400 ft broken - Temperature: 46 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: PAI ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000914041929A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000914041929A), Sep 14, 2000: Cessna 120, Iliamna, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Upon landing the pilot over corrected the aircraft, veered off the runway, and flipped the aircraft over on its back. No injuries. ## Other investigations on N72775 (2) 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 MKC67D0384](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC67D0384), Dec 26, 1966: Cessna 120 (N72775), Buyek, MN, substantial damage - [NTSB MKC66F0378](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC66F0378), Dec 5, 1965: Cessna 120 (N72775), Eveleth, MN, substantial damage 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. --- 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.