- Date
- September 29, 2014, 13:18 local (21:18 UTC)
- Place
- Kodiak, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N2483CCessna 180
- Defining event
- Taxi: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 5, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FSDO-3
- FAA report
- 20140929020609A
- Case key
- 90188
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 pilots failure to maintain control of the airplane while taxiing in gusty wind conditions.
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 pilot was back taxiing on the runway for departure in a tundra tire tailwheel-equipped airplane. He stated he had made one takeoff from the airport earlier that day, he had checked the weather before this departure and noticed that the wind had increased slightly. There were other aircraft using the same runway and he felt confident that he could handle the wind. While back taxiing he noticed that he was using heavy braking when a gust of wind pushed the airplane to the left. He stated that the brakes were too hot to hold the aircraft straight, resulting in a ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wing, aileron, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.The pilot stated in the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, that the large 29 inch tundra tires caused the brakes to heat up much faster than the 850 tires that he was used to. He recommended limiting downwind taxiing to short distances, and in no more than 12 knots of wind while operating with large tires.
Factual narrative
The pilot was back taxiing on the runway for departure in a tundra tire tailwheel-equipped airplane. He stated he had made one takeoff from the airport earlier that day, he had checked the weather before this departure and noticed that the wind had increased slightly. There were other aircraft using the same runway and he felt confident that he could handle the wind. While back taxiing he noticed that he was using heavy braking when a gust of wind pushed the airplane to the left. He stated that the brakes were too hot to hold the aircraft straight, resulting in a ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wing, aileron, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.The pilot stated in the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, that the large 29 inch tundra tires caused the brakes to heat up much faster than the 850 tires that he was used to. He recommended limiting downwind taxiing to short distances, and in no more than 12 knots of wind while operating with large tires.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2483C
- Reported as
- Cessna 180 (UNDESIGNAT)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30783
- Built
- 1954
- Airframe hours
- 3,380
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 330 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 21, 2014 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- ADQ · Kodiak, AK
- Destination
- ADQ · Kodiak, AK
- Airport
- ADQ · Kodiak, runway 25, 7,550 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 10, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 26,391 total · 500 in this make and model · 24,251 as pilot in command · 221 in the last 90 days · 66.6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- PADQ, 1 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 24, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 977 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.