- Date
- June 5, 2003, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Grinnell, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5667CCessna 140A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA- Des Moines FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030605011599A
- Case key
- 57199
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 inadvertent ground loop. Factors contributing to the accident were the wind gusts and crosswind conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane ground looped during landing. The pilot stated he received a report from another aircraft that the winds at his destination were variable and that he could choose a runway. The pilot reported the approach and touchdown were normal. The pilot noted he encountered a right rear-quartering gust. Winds 21 miles south-southwest of the accident site were recorded as 210 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 15 knots. The pilot stated the airplane swerved, ground looped, and subsequently nosed over.
Factual narrative
On June 5, 2003, at 1330 central daylight time, a Cessna 140A, N5667C, owned and piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it ground looped during landing on runway 13 (5,200 feet by 75 feet, dry concrete) at Grinnell Regional Airport (GGI), Grinnell, Iowa. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The flight departed Pella Municipal Airport (PEA), Pella, Iowa, at 1230, en route to GGI
The pilot reported he received a report from another aircraft at GGI that the winds were variable and that he "could pick [a] runway." The pilot stated that he entered a downwind for runway 13, and the approach and touchdown were normal. The pilot stated the airplane "seemed to take a right rear quartering gust." The airplane then swerved, ground looped, and subsequently nosed over.
The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures during the accident flight.
A weather reporting station at PEA, 21 nautical miles south-southwest of the accident site, recorded at 1335: winds from 210 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5667C
- Reported as
- Cessna 140A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15623
- Airframe hours
- 2,633.9
- Engine
- Continental C90-14-F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2002 · 58.6 hours before
- Departed
- PEA · Pella, IA
- Destination
- GGI · Grinnell, IA
- Airport
- GGI · Grinnell Regional Airport, runway 13, 5,200 × 75 ft, concrete
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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- November 15, 2002
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 639 total · 102 in this make and model · 639 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- PEA, 21 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.