- Date
- June 22, 2004, 20:15 local (Jun 23, 2004, 02:15 UTC)
- Place
- Heber City, UT
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2555CCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20040622010139A
- Case key
- 59481
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 maintain aircraft control during the aborted landing. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to maintain runway alignment, the fence, and the ditch.
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 said he landed "smoothly" on runway 3. The tail wheel bounced slightly and the airplane became airborne and drifted to the left of runway centerline. He added power to make abort the landing. The airplane settled back onto the runway, then veered off the left side. It struck the airport boundary fence, rolled into a ditch, and nosed over. The vertical stabilizer was crushed, and the wing rear carry-through spar was bent.
Factual narrative
On June 22, 2004, approximately 2015 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N2555C, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck a fence and impacted a ditch during an aborted landing at Heber City Municipal Airport (36U), Heber City, Utah. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured, but his two passengers sustained minor injuries. The flight departed the Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, approximately 1930, and was destined for 36U.
According to the pilot, he landed "smoothly" on runway 3. The tail wheel bounced slightly and the airplane became airborne and drifted to the left of runway centerline. He added power to abort the landing. The airplane settled back onto the runway, then veered off the left side. It struck the airport boundary fence, rolled into a ditch, and nosed over. The vertical stabilizer was crushed, and the wing rear carry-through spar was bent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2555C
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26199
- Airframe hours
- 4,344
- Engine
- Continental C-145-2, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John B. Wells
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 14, 2002 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
- Destination
- 36U · Heber City, UT
- Airport
- 36U · Heber City Municipal, runway 03, 6,898 × 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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 17, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 995 total · 25 in this make and model · 960 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- SLC, 31 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 N2555C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.