# NTSB CHI00LA072: Cessna 180, N6545A, Tower, MN, February 20, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 20, 2000, 14:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Tower, MN - Coordinates: 47.810577, -92.289901 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.8106&lon=-92.2899&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 2, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 48662 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI00LA072 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/48662/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI00LA072 ## Probable cause the passenger not maintaining clearance from the rotating propeller. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Propeller/rotor contact to person, standing - engine(s) operating - clearance - not maintained, passenger (cause) ## Analysis A passenger deplaned, walked into the airplane's rotating propeller, and sustained fatal injuries. The pilot and two other passengers were uninjured. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Lake Vermilion, Minnesota at 1415, landed on Lake Vermilion, and was standing at the time of the accident. The pilot said his daughter's friends were approaching the airplane using their snowmobiles. He stated she was '...excited to meet with her friends.' The pilot stated, 'When the aircraft stopped I pulled out the fuel mixture as I was shutting down other equipment in the aircraft my daughter ... slipped out of the rear seat of the aircraft, when I saw her outside I screamed her name as she turned to look at me her body shifted foward and she was struck in the head once as the prop made its final revolution.' ## Factual narrative On February 20, 2000, at 1430 central standard time, a Cessna 180, N6545A, operated by a private pilot, was standing on Lake Vermilion, near Tower, Minnesota, when a passenger deplaned and walked into the airplane's rotating propeller. The deplaned passenger sustained fatal injuries. The pilot and two other passengers were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was undamaged. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Lake Vermilion, Minnesota at 1415, landed on Lake Vermilion, and was standing at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that he landed the airplane on Lake Vermilion and stopped the airplane. He said that his daughter's friends were approaching the airplane using their snowmobiles. He stated that she was "...excited to meet with her friends." The pilot stated, "When the aircraft stopped I pulled out the fuel mixture as I was shutting down other equipment in the aircraft my daughter ... slipped out of the rear seat of the aircraft, when I saw her outside I screamed her name as she turned to look at me her body shifted foward and she was struck in the head once as the prop made its final revolution." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6545A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6545A), registered now, S/N 32442 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 180 - Registry model: [Cessna 180](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (registry code 2072602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 32442 - Airframe hours: 4658 - Engines: Continental O-470-K 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: No damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Dale W. Gustafson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 20, 1999, 28 hours before - Departed: PVT, LAKE VERMILION, MN ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 579 total, 234 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 240° at 8 knots - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 41 °F, dew point 18 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: CQM, 29 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 20000220012049A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000220012049A), Feb 20, 2000: Cessna 180, Virginia, MN, No damage, 1 fatal. (-23) Pilot landed on lake vermillion to watch snowmobiles. Pilot in process of shutting down engine when his 16 year old daughter (kristen) exited left side… ## Other investigations on N6545A (1) 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. - [NTSB CEN10CA260](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN10CA260), May 16, 2010: Cessna 180 (N6545A), Duluth, MN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. 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.