- Date
- July 29, 1993, 20:00 local (Jul 30, 1993, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Steele, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8163ACessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930729037619A
- Case key
- 9265
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-in-command's poor in-flight decision and failure to maintain proper clearance.
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 pilot was making a low pass to check his cattle when his right main landing gear struck and killed a cow. The landing gear was ripped from the airplane. The pilot, who failed to produce a pilot certificate, valid medical certificate, or last bfr, made a landing on a neighbor's strip without the right main landing gear. As a result, the airplane ground looped, damaging the right outboard wing and wing tip.
Factual narrative
On July 29, 1993 about 2000 central daylight time, a Cessna 170, N8163A sustained substantial damage when it nosed over after making an emergency landing. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot was making a low pass from north to south to check his cattle when he hit a cow with the right main landing gear, killing the cow and tearing the gear from the aircraft. The pilot reported that the gear assembly and strut fell into a nearby oats field. He decided to land at his neighbors landing strip because his was too wet. When he landed without the right gear, the airplane ground looped, damaging the right outboard wing and wing tip.
When asked to produce his pilot certificate and medical certificate, the pilot stated that he had no current medical, and had not planned to fly that day. When he was asked for his logbook, the pilot stated he had lost it sometime the previous year. When asked when his last biennial flight review was, he said he wasn't sure, and didn't know the name of the instructor who gave him the BFR. Examination of the aircraft logbooks found that the airplane did not have a current annual inspection.
In the pilot report statement, the pilot said he applied 10 degrees of flaps and went in a low pass to investigate a calf lying by the water accumulated from heavy rains. The engine started sputtering, so he applied carburetor heat and tried to get power back. The plane started settling. When the power came back, he applied full power and started climbing. At the same time, the right main gear struck a cow.
Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction with airframe, engine or accessories.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8163A
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25015
- Engine
- Continental O-300, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Kalainov, Ron
- Registered owner
- Ron Kalainov & Dale Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total · 500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JMS, 60 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.