- Date
- August 1, 1999, 14:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Gustavus, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6180Cessna 180A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19990801010279A
- Case key
- 46875
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 inadvertent ground loop/swerve.
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 certificated commercial pilot had landed on runway 28. He stated that the touchdown and the landing roll were uneventful, until the airplane's nose veered slightly to the right. He compensated by applying full left rudder, but the airplane suddenly ground looped to the right. During the ground loop the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing collided with the runway. The left wing and fuselage sustained substantial damage. Wind conditions at the time of the accident were reported to be from 190 degrees at 5 knots.
Factual narrative
On August 1, 1999, about 1415 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 180A airplane, N6180, sustained substantial damage while landing at the Gustavus Airport, Gustavus, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The certificated commercial pilot, and the one passenger aboard, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on August 2, the pilot reported that he had just landed on runway 28. He stated that the touchdown and the landing roll were uneventful, until the airplane's nose veered slightly to the right. He said he compensated by applying full left rudder, but the airplane suddenly ground looped to the right. During the ground loop the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing collided with the runway. The left wing and fuselage sustained substantial damage.
Wind conditions at the time of the accident were reported to be from 190 degrees at 5 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6180
- Reported as
- Cessna 180A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32966
- Airframe hours
- 4,363
- Engine
- Continental O-470K, 230 lbs thrust, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Chuck Milton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 9, 1999 · 73 hours before
- Departed
- PAJN · Juneau, AK
- Airport
- GST · Gustavus, runway 28, 6,700 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,100 total · 400 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N6180 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.