- Date
- March 8, 1999, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Ledge, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N432WCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990308002499A
- Case key
- 45910
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 flight instructor's failure to successfully take remedial action to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll out. Factors were the crosswinds and snowbank.
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 instructor pilot stated that after take off from Runway 9 he reduced power to simulate a rough running engine. He reported that the student turned the airplane back to Runway 27 and landed. He said that during the roll out, a sudden and unexpected gust of wind from the south turned the aircraft to the left. The student said that the airplane impacted a snowbank off the south side of the runway and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On March 8, 1999, at 1000 eastern standard time, a Cessna 170B, N432W, piloted by a private pilot receiving dual instruction from a certified flight instructor with an airline transport pilot rating, sustained substantial damage during a simulated emergency landing on Runway 27 (3,200' X 75' dry/asphalt), at Abrams Municipal Airport, Grand Ledge, Michigan. The instructor said that after take off from Runway 9, he reduced the throttle to simulate a loss of engine power and that the pilot turned back to land on Runway 27. The instructor stated that during the landing roll the airplane encountered a gust of wind that turned it 90 degrees to the runway. The airplane contacted a snowbank off the edge of the runway, and nosed over. The 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructor reported one minor injury. The flight originated at approximately 0930 from Abrams Municipal Airport, Grand Ledge, Michigan.
The instructor said in a written statement that he and the student completed three simulated emergency landings on Runway 9 at Abrams Municipal Airport and had started another takeoff. The instructor stated that at approximately 500 feet above ground level he reduced the throttle to simulate a rough running engine.
The student pilot reported that on the landing roll after the gust of wind, he applied full right rudder. He stated that after he applied rudder, the instructor applied right rudder and right brake. The student said that the airplane hit a snowbank off the south edge of the runway and nosed over.
In their written statements, both pilots state that they were at the controls at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N432W
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20325
- Airframe hours
- 4,100
- Engine
- Continental O300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jacob William Hicks
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 1998 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- 4D0
- Destination
- 4D0
- Airport
- 4DO · Abrams Municipal Airport, runway 27, 3,200 × 75 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
- 65
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 30 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 23,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 21 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAN, 6 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.
Other investigations on N432W · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.