- Date
- December 19, 2015, 15:55 local (21:55 UTC)
- Place
- Baytown, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2694FCessna 182J
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 16, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA - Houston FSDO
- FAA report
- 20151219019569A
- Case key
- 92496
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 failure to maintain directional control during landing in gusting wind conditions.
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
The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, while performing a crosswind landing on runway 26, the airplane's left wing rose while the nose and right main wheels remained on the runway. The pilot corrected to get all three wheels on the runway, and after doing so, the airplane was no longer aligned with the runway. The airplane subsequently exited the side of the runway, the nose landing gear dug into the muddy grass, and the airplane nosed over. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. The reported weather at an airport 19 miles away from the accident site indicated that the wind was from 90 degrees at 9 knots; however, the pilot reported that the wind was from 160 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain directional control during landing in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in the runway excursion and subsequent nose-over.
Factual narrative
On December 19, 2015, about 1555 central standard time, a Cessna 182J, N2694F, sustained substantial damage during a runway excursion while landing on runway 26 at the RWJ Airpark (54T), near Baytown, Texas. The pilot received minor injuries and the passenger received serious injuries in the accident. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not on a flight plan. The flight originated from the Del Rio International Airport, Del Rio, Texas, about 1225.The pilot reported that while performing a crosswind landing on runway 26 at 54T, the left wing of the airplane came up with the nose and right main wheels remaining on the runway. The pilot corrected to get all three wheels on the runway, and after doing so, the airplane was no longer aligned with the runway. The airplane exited the side of the runway into the grass. The nose landing gear dug into the muddy grass, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane prior to the accident. At 1550, the reported weather conditions at the Ellington Airport (EFD), Houston, Texas, about 19 miles southwest of 54T, at 1550 included winds from 90 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot reported winds from 160 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 15 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2694F
- Reported as
- Cessna 182J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18256794
- Built
- 1965
- Airframe hours
- 6,410
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 2015 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- DRT · Del Rio, TX
- Destination
- 54T · Baytown, TX
- Airport
- 54T · Rwj Airpark, runway 26, 5,035 × 40 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system
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
- 63
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 28, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 390 total · 104 in this make and model · 390 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.40 inHg
- Observed at
- EFD, 19 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 8, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.