- Date
- June 12, 2005, 10:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2830CCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20050612015009A
- Case key
- 61682
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and an inadvertent ground-loop. A factor associated with the accident was a crosswind.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The private pilot reported that the automatic terminal information service at the landing airport indicated the surface wind was from 040 degrees at 6 knots. During the landing roll on runway 6, the pilot stated the left wing lifted, and he lost directional control. The airplane ground-looped to the left, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained structural damage to the landing gear, fuselage, and left wing. The official weather observation taken at the time of the accident indicated that the wind was from 030 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On June 12, 2005, about 1030 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N2830C, sustained substantial damage when it ground-looped following a loss of control during landing at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal local flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on June 6, the pilot said he landed on runway 06. He said the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) was reporting the wind from 040 degrees at 6 knots, but he thought it was more of a direct crosswind, and gusting. The official weather observation for Merrill Field at 1030 reported the wind was from 030 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot said that during the landing roll, the left wing lifted, and he lost directional control. The airplane ground-looped to the left, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained damage to the propeller, main landing gear, fuselage, and left wing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2830C
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26373
- Engine
- Continental O-300-A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Craig J. Keppers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Departed
- MRI · Anchorage, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- MRI · Merrill Field, runway 06
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- August 1, 2003
- Flight hours
- 190 total · 114 in this make and model · 23 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Observed at
- MRI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.