- Date
- February 18, 1995, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cotton, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N52172Cessna 180J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950218002269A
- Case key
- 9840
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 gain sufficient clearance over the trees during the aborted landing.
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 landed on a frozen lake and felt he would not be able to stop the airplane in the distance available. He aborted the landing and was unable to clear the trees at the edge of the lake. The airplane contacted the tree tops and descended to impact with the terrain.
Factual narrative
On February 18, 1995, at 1500 central standard time, a Cessna 180J, N52172, registered to Flossie Telin and piloted by a private pilot collided with trees during an aborted landing on Upper Bug Lake, Cotton, Minnesota, while on a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. The flight originated from Duluth, Minnesota, on February 18, 1995, at 1430.
The pilot reported that he landed the airplane on a snow covered/frozen lake and felt he would not be able to stop in the available distance. He stated he executed an aborted landing and failed to clear tree tops along the edge of the lake. The airplane contacted the trees and settled through the trees to impact the terrain.
The pilot reported to an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector that he avoided the river channel portion of the river which left him with approximately 1,000 feet of lake on which to land. The FAA Inspector stated that the landing area available did not appear to be 1,000 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52172
- Reported as
- Cessna 180J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18052535
- Airframe hours
- 4,077
- Engine
- Continental O-470, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Flossie Telin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 7, 1994 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- D36 · Duluth, MN
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
- 68
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,136 total · 260 in this make and model · 1,068 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.