- Date
- August 19, 2024, 19:45 local (Aug 20, 2024, 01:45 UTC)
- Place
- Loveland, CO
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4490RCessna A185
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Denver FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240819011129A
- Case key
- 194973
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 the landing, that resulted in a ground loop and a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
Findings · 5
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
Before the landing, the pilot told the flight instructor that he “wasn’t real comfortable” with the landing, as he had never landed to the particular runway before, which he classified as shorter and narrower. The flight instructor said the landing would be “okay,” and the pilot completed the before landing checklist with the tailwheel unlocked and full flaps applied for the three-point landing. After touchdown, the airplane bounced and immediately after the second touchdown, the airplane ground looped and departed the runway to the left. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing and the empennage impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest upright on a grass field next to the runway and the three occupants were able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damaged to the fuselage, the right wing, and the empennage. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that a ground loop had occurred “very fast,” and the cause of the accident was “human error.”
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4490R
- Reported as
- Cessna A185 (F)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18502970
- Built
- 1976
- Airframe hours
- 1,670.2
- Engine
- Continental Motors IO-520-D24B, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 7, 2024 · 7.2 hours before
- Departed
- BJC · Broomfield, CO
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FNL · Northern Colorado Rgnl, runway 06/24, 2,189 × 40 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Onboard weather
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 65
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 15, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 6,222 total · 9 in this make and model · 6,188 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 27, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 25,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 20,000 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- KFNL
- METAR
- KFNL 200056Z AUTO 14005KT 10SM SCT120 28/16 A3020 RMK AO2 SLP159 T02780156 PNO $
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 19, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.3 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.