- Date
- October 16, 1990, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5523ZPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901016046369A
- Case key
- 18049
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control.
Analysis
A student pilot made a landing on runway 28. During landing roll, according to the pilot, he lost directional control and the airplane departed the runway to the left. The plane struck a four foot embankment and tore the left wing loose at the root. The left wing spar was bent, the fuselage twisted, and the cabin top crushed. The pilot said he thought a gust struck the aircraft however, the weather observation did not record any gusts during the accident sequence. The crosswind component was computed to be 8 knots, well within the capabilities of the aircraft.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5523Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7846
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald M. Lewark
- Departed
- 3V4 · Ft. Morgan, CO
- Destination
- APA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- APA · Centennial, runway 28, 4,903 × 62 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
- 26
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 59 total · 59 in this make and model · 28 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- APA, 1 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.