- Date
- October 13, 2002, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Watkinsville, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N170LBCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 5, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Atlanta FSDO
- FAA report
- 20021013028869A
- Case key
- 55875
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 collision with an ant hill during takeoff that resulted in a ground loop and the subsequent collision collision with the ground. A factor was unsuitable terrain.
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 pilot landed in the pasture to assist another pilot who had landed because of an airplane problem. Unable to provide assistance to the other airplane, the Cessna 170B pilot elected to takeoff with the intention of seeking help. During the takeoff roll, the right main landing gear collided with an ant hill. The pilot reported that the collision damaged the right main landing gear, and directional control was lost. The subsequent airplane gyrations also damaged the left wing assembly. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On October 13, 2002, at 1500 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N170LB, registered to and operated by the pilot, collided with an ant hill during an attempted takeoff from a pasture near Watkinsville, Georgia. The personal flight operated under the provisions Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The accident occurred during the initial takeoff from the pasture in Watkinsville, Georgia, on October 13, 2002, at 1500.
The pilot landed in the pasture to assist another pilot who had landed because of an airplane problem. Unable to provide assistance to the other airplane, the Cessna 170B pilot elected to takeoff with the intention of seeking help. During the takeoff roll, the right main landing gear collided with an ant hill. The pilot reported that the collision damaged the right main landing gear, and the airplane ground looped. The subsequent airplane gyrations also damaged the left wing assembly and the airframe. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N170LB
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26716
- Airframe hours
- 3,832
- Engine
- Continental O-300A3, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert D.Wheeler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 15, 2002 · 105 hours before
- Departed
- Watkinsville, GA
- Destination
- Statham, GA
- Airport
- Off Airport
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 76
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- May 8, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,780 total · 0 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- AHN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.