# NTSB CEN15CA016: Cessna 180B, N180CT, Coloma, MI, October 11, 2014 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: October 11, 2014, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Coloma, MI - Coordinates: 42.179588, -86.299362 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.1796&lon=-86.2994&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 5, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - NTSB case key (mKey): 90270 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN15CA016 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90270/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90270 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15CA016 ## Probable cause The pilot did not use the departure checklist, resulting in an inadvertent landing with the pontoon wheels extended. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: forgotten action/omission](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 180B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035/cases.md?model=2072606), [All aircraft, 440 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 180B, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=2072606), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of checklist](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 180B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030/cases.md?model=2072606), [All aircraft, 336 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030/cases.md) - [Landing gear system: gear extension and retract sys](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023230): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Not used/operated (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 180B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023230/cases.md?model=2072606), [All aircraft, 416 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023230/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 180B, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072606), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot departed a land-based airport and flew to a nearby lake. Being a short and direct flight, the pilot said he did not use the departure checklist and forgot to retract the wheels on the pontoons. Immediately upon touching down in the water, the airplane nosed over. Post-accident examination revealed the firewall had been buckled by impact. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane or its systems that would have precluded normal operations. ## Factual narrative According to the pilot's written statement, he departed a land-based airport and flew to a nearby lake. Being a short and direct flight, he did not use the departure checklist and forgot to retract the wheels on the pontoons. Immediately upon touching down in the water, the airplane nosed over. Post-accident examination revealed the firewall had been buckled by impact. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane or its systems that would have precluded normal operations. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N180CT](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N180CT), registered now, S/N 50632, built 1959 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 180B - Registry model: [Cessna 180B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180b) (registry code 2072606) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 50632 - Year built: 1959 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Performance Paradise LLC - Registered owner: Performance Paradise LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: KBEH, Benton Harbor, MI - Destination: NONE, Coloma, MI ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 45; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, multi-engine sea, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 2,450 total, 350 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 30.26 inHg - Observed at: KBEH, 9 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20141011021539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20141011021539A), Oct 11, 2014: Cessna 180B, Coloma, MI, Substantial damage. On October 11, 2014 at 1300 hours a Cessna CE-180 N180CT equipped with amphibian floats landed on paw paw lake, Michigan with the landing gear extended. The… ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 12, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90270. 1.1 MB in all. - Pilot's Statement (item 1, .PDF, 177 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418897&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%27s%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Report from Airport Manager (item 2, .PDF, 254 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418890&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Report%20from%20Airport%20Manager-Redacted.PDF - Map of Accident Area and Flight Path by Pilot (item 3, .PDF, 81 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418891&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Map%20of%20Accident%20Area%20and%20Flight%20Path%20by%20Pilot-Master.PDF - Weather Report (item 4, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418892&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Report-Master.PDF - Photo 1 - Wreckage in Lake (item 5, .PDF, 109 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418893&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20-%20Wreckage%20in%20Lake-Master.PDF - Photo 2 - Wreckage (item 6, .PDF, 125 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418894&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%20-%20Wreckage-Master.PDF - Photo 3 - Wreckage After Recovery (item 7, .PDF, 129 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418895&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203%20-%20Wreckage%20After%20Recovery-Master.PDF - Photo 4 - Firewall (item 8, .PDF, 130 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40418896&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%204%20-%20Firewall-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.