- Date
- August 14, 1995, 12:17 local (18:17 UTC)
- Place
- Dickinson, ND
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N47428Cessna A185E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950814024019A
- Case key
- 9993
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 inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, and his improper recovery from the bounced landing. The high wind was a factor.
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
During a landing in strong wind conditions, the airplane bounced and impacted right wing first. The pilot said that the windsock was straight out. A weather observation on the airport reported a wind of 19 knots from 260 degrees. The landing was on runway 25.
Factual narrative
On August 14, 1995, at 1217 mountain daylight time, a Cessna A185E, N47428, owned and operated by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing on runway 25 at Dickinson, North Dakota. The pilot and two passengers reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions on a VFR flight plan. The flight departed Huron, South Dakota, at 0958 with an original planned destination of Glasgow, Montana; however, the destination was changed to Dickinson, North Dakota, for a refueling stop.
The pilot stated that he recognized that there were strong winds. He noted that on final approach the windsock was "straight out." He said that on initial touch touchdown the airplane ballooned, followed by the left wing rising and the airplane drifting off the runway to the right. He reported that the airplane impacted right wing first, followed by the nose and then by the left wing and tail.
A weather observation at Dickinson, North Dakota, taken at 1050 indicated winds from 260 degrees at 19 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47428
- Reported as
- Cessna A185E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 185-1196
- Airframe hours
- 2,500
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Widmer, Stephen K.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 1994 · 83 hours before
- Departed
- HON · Huron, SD
- Destination
- DIK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- DIK · Dickinson Municipal, runway 25, 3,405 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,682 total · 470 in this make and model · 2,666 as pilot in command · 54 in the last 90 days · 43 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 19 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DIK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.