- Date
- November 18, 2008, 15:10 local (22:10 UTC)
- Place
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N905CCPiper PA-18-150
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 24, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Case key
- 69481
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 to maintain directional control and his failure to compensate for wind conditions. Contributing to the accident were gusting winds with a wind shear warning in effect.
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
According to the pilot, after completing the final towing flight for the day, he returned land. He was cleared to land runway 34L and touched down "on the numbers and centerline with full flaps at 45 miles per hour(MPH)." The pilot reported that the airplane immediately weather vaned to the left, and headed for the left runway edge. He applied corrective countermeasures, "over corrected", and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The airplane came to rest on the soft shoulder after completing 180 degrees of turn (ground loop). During the ground loop maneuver, the airplane sustained a bent outer left wing and aileron, and a bent left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane prior to the accident and was able to taxi the plane to it's hangar after recovery. Wind conditions reported at the time of the accident were 290 degrees at 15 MPH gusting to 20 MPH with a wind shear warning in effect.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, after completing the final towing flight for the day, he returned to AFF for landing. He was cleared to land runway 34L and touched down "on the numbers and centerline with full flaps at 45 miles per hour(MPH)." The pilot reported that the airplane immediately weather vaned to the left, and headed for the left runway edge. He applied corrective counter-measures, "over corrected", and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The airplane came to rest on the soft shoulder after completing 180 degrees of turn (ground loop). During the ground loop maneuver, the airplane sustained a bent outer left wing and aileron, and a bent left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane prior to the accident and was able to taxi the plane to it's hangar after recovery. Wind conditions reported at the time of the accident were 290 degrees at 15 MPH gusting to 20 MPH with a wind shear warning in effect.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N905CC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 9905CC
- Airframe hours
- 5,940
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-360, 130 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Glider tow · Part 91
- Operator
- Doss Aviation Inc.
- Registered owner
- Doss Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 14, 2008
- Departed
- AFF · Colorado Spring, CO
- Destination
- AFF · Colorado Spring, CO
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- AFF · USAF Academy Airfiled, runway 34L, 4,500 × 40 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Military, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 29, 2008
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 9,371 total · 3,750 in this make and model · 8,500 as pilot in command · 85 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Observed at
- AFF, 1 nm away