- Date
- August 8, 1985, 08:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mule Creek Jct, WY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5163ECessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850808037119A
- Case key
- 16776
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt was spotting cattle during a cattle herding operation. He saw 2 cows with calves in a cove of a canyon that personnel on the ground were leaving behind. The plt stated that he made a sharp turn & flew over the cows to show their location to riders on the ground. He then entered a climb & started a turn to leave when the acft 'just dropped.' The plt stated that as he was recovering, 'the airplane flattened out just off the ground.' The left wing then dropped & contacted the ground & the acft cartwheeled into a canyon & came to rest upside down. The plt escaped injury, but a dog that was aboard was killed. Elevation of the crash site was about 4500 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5163E
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 50463
- Engine
- Continental O-470-K, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wilbur E. Stoddard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 3, 1984 · 2,500 hours before
- Departed
- Stoddard Ranch, WY
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,160 total · 2,110 in this make and model · 2,060 as pilot in command · 68 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
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 N5163E · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.