# NTSB CHI03LA068: Cessna 182F, N3455U, Estherville, IA, February 11, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 11, 2003, 15:15 local (21:15 UTC) - Place: Estherville, IA - Coordinates: 43.407222, -94.746391 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.4072&lon=-94.7464&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA-Des Moines FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 56495 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI03LA068 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/56495/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=56495 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03LA068 ## Probable cause The pilot failed to maintain adequate control of the airplane while taxiing in high wind conditions. A factor was the high winds. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Nose over, taxi - aircraft control - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - high wind (contributing factor) ## Analysis The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over while taxiing during high wind conditions. The winds recorded about 22 miles northeast of the airport were 330 degrees at 40 knots. The pilot reported he landed safely and began taxiing slowly toward a hangar while applying "full wind correction" of the flight controls. He taxied onto the grass so that he could taxi to the hangar with a quartering headwind. He reported there was snow on the grass and the "wind was making us skid a little," and about "100 feet from the runway we slowly went up on our nose causing a prop strike," and "then we went over." ## Factual narrative On February 11, 2003, at 1515 central standard time, a Cessna 182F, N3455U, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over while taxiing during high wind conditions. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight departed Osage, Iowa, at 1400, and landed at Estherville Municipal Airport (EST), Estherville, Iowa. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed. The pilot reported he checked the EST Automated Weather Observating System (AWOS) while en route. He reported the winds were from 310 degrees magnetic at 20-40 knots. He landed safely and began taxiing slowly toward a hangar while applying "full wind correction" of the flight controls. He taxied onto the grass so that he could taxi to the hangar with a quartering headwind. He reported there was snow on the grass and the "wind was making us skid a little," and about "100 feet from the runway we slowly went up on our nose causing a prop strike," and "then we went over." The winds recorded at 1515 at the Fairmont Municipal Airport (FSM), Fairmont, Minnesota, located about 22 miles northeast of Estherville were 330 degrees at 40 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3455U](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3455U), registered now, S/N 18254855 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182F - Registry model: [Cessna 182F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182f) (registry code 2072714) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18254855 - Airframe hours: 3371 - Engines: Continental O-470 R 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Scott Benjamin - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 11, 2002, 28 hours before - Departed: D02, OSAGE, IA - Destination: EST, ESTHERVILLE, IA - Airport: EST, Estherville Municipal Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; last flight review July 19, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 1,313 total, 583 in this make and model, 1,255 as pilot in command, 25 in the last 90 days, 22 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 330° at 40 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 19 °F, dew point 1 °F - Altimeter: 29.81 inHg - Observed at: FRM, 22 nm away ## Other investigations on N3455U (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 LAX66D0310](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX66D0310), Mar 18, 1966: Cessna 182 (N3455U), Baker, CA, substantial damage ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 11, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=56495. 293 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 293 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384454&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.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.