- Date
- July 26, 1992, 16:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Monroe, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9581BCessna 180B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920726027439A
- Case key
- 8635
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
Failure of the pilot's seat assembly for an undetermined reason(s) which resulted in a loss of control during the takeoff roll.
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
As the airplane accelerated to 20 mph, during the initial takeoff roll, the pilot's seat assembly collapsed and he was displaced aft from the pilot's station. According to the pilot he was out of reach of the flight and throttle controls, and could not reduce the throttle. The uncontrolled airplane veered left and ground looped. After the pilot exited the airplane, the airplane burst into flames. The fire destroyed the entire airplane and left seat assembly. The failed seat component was also destroyed in the fire. In his report, the pilot said that the 'seat failed to stay locked.' However, during a later telephone conversation, he stated that the right rear portion of the seat appeared to have collapsed. He did not recall that the entire seat assembly moved.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9581B
- Reported as
- Cessna 180B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32878
- Airframe hours
- 4,204
- Engine
- Continental O-470-K19, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sessions, Carl E.
- Registered owner
- Sessions, Carl E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 1991 · 193 hours before
- Airport
- A06 · Monroe-Walton County, runway 21, 3,300 × 50 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
- 59
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 600 in this make and model · 10,000 as pilot in command · 104 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AHN, 30 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.