- Date
- August 17, 2012, 11:14 local (19:14 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4551CCessna 170B
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 19, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA Fairbanks FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120817018069A
- Case key
- 84748
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 failure to maintain directional control during landing, which resulted in a ground loop and runway excursion.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The private pilot stated that during the landing roll, he looked down to turn off the carburetor heat. When he looked back up, he was on the left edge of the runway. He overcorrected with right rudder, ground looped, and departed the right side of the runway onto the grass. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot indicated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The private pilot stated that during the landing roll out, he looked down to turn off the carburetor heat. When he looked back up, he was on the left edge of the runway. He over corrected with right rudder, ground looped, and departed the right side of the runway onto the grass. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot indicated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4551C
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25495
- Airframe hours
- 2,106
- Engine
- Cont Motor C145 SERIES, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 24, 2011
- Departed
- PAFA · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- PAFA · Fairbanks, AK
- Airport
- PAFA · Fairbanks International Airpor, runway 20, 2,900 × 75 ft, gravel
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
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 30, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 10 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
- Observed at
- PAFA
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 27, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 754 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.