# NTSB ANC03CA006: Cessna 180, N5244D, Anchorage, AK, October 25, 2002

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report
- Date: October 25, 2002, 15:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place: Anchorage, AK
- Coordinates: 61.186943, -149.96527
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.1869&lon=-149.9653&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report April 29, 2003
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- Parties: Anchorage FSDO-03
- NTSB case key (mKey): 55955
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC03CA006
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55955/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC03CA006

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain proper alignment on the taxiway and clearance from the taxiway edge lights while taxiing from landing.  A factor contributing to the accident was sun glare.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- On ground/water collision with object, taxi - from landing
  - light condition - sunglare (contributing factor)
  - proper alignment - not maintained, pilot in command (cause)
  - airport facilities,runway edge lights
  - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause)
- On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, taxi - from landing
  - terrain condition - ditch

## Analysis

While taxiing to parking the pilot made a turn from the taxiway into the parking area.  He said the sun was in his eyes when he made the turn, and the airplane inadvertently struck a taxiway edge light, and then encountered a ditch.

## Factual narrative

On October 25, 2002, about 1530 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N5244D, sustained substantial damage when it collided with taxiway lighting and a ditch while taxiing to parking at the Lake Hood Strip, Anchorage, Alaska.  The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred.  The solo private pilot was not injured.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 28, the FAA aviation safety inspector who responded to the accident site said the pilot told her he had just landed and was exiting the runway.   He said he missed the taxiway turnout, and ran the airplane into a ditch.  He said the sun was in his eyes, and he thought he was turning onto the taxiway.  The inspector said the sides and belly of the airplane's fuselage were damaged when the airplane exited the runway and collided with runway/taxiway lights.  She said the airplane also encountered a ditch, and the propeller struck the ground.

In a written statement to the NTSB, the pilot said he was taxiing to parking when the accident occurred.  He said the sun was in his eyes when he turned from the taxiway into the parking area, and the airplane struck a taxiway light and then encountered a ditch.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N5244D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5244D), registered now, S/N 50142, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 180
- Registry model: [Cessna 180A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180a) (registry code 2072604) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 50142
- Engines: Continental O-470K reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Registered owner: John B. Minton
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Departed: Z41, Anchorage, AK
- Destination: Z41, Anchorage, AK
- Flight plan: Unknown
- Airport: Z41, Lake Hood Strip, runway 31

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 55; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; medical: class 3; flight hours: 255 total, 34 in this make and model, 34 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day

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.