- Date
- July 21, 2024, 10:07 local (14:07 UTC)
- Place
- Rural Retreat, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N185GSCessna A185F
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240721009199A
- Case key
- 194731
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
A loss of directional control during the landing roll.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that after completing a short cross-country flight, he entered the airport pattern for a full-stop landing. The pilot described that he configured the airplane up for a “full stall, 3-point landing” and upon touching down, the airplane “abruptly swerved to the right.” The pilot recounted that it felt “as if the right brake was applied” but reported that both of his feet were off the brakes. The pilot applied left brake, but it was ineffective because the left wheel was pulled off the runway by the abrupt swerve to the right. To compensate, the pilot increased throttle input, which inadvertently resulted in the airplane beginning a climb away from the runway before entering a descending left turn. Following the accident, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane’s wheels, tires, and brakes, and found no evidence of any anomalies. A subsequent detailed inspection of the right brake by a mechanic revealed that the internal components of the brake had little wear and showed no evidence of damage or defects. The left main landing gear separated from the fuselage during the accident sequence, therefore the integrity of the hydraulic system used to actuate the brake could not be evaluated.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N185GS
- Reported as
- Cessna A185F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18503646
- Built
- 1978
- Airframe hours
- 2,200
- Engine
- Cont Motor IO 550 D13B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Promotive, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 11, 2023 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- VJI · Abingdon, VA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- MKJ · Mountain Empire, runway 26, 5,252 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Auto-pilot
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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 20, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 556 total · 25 in this make and model · 471.1 as pilot in command · 72 in the last 90 days · 41.3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- MKJ
- METAR
- KMKJ 211335Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 20/19 A3020 RMK AO2 T01960185,M
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 4, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12.9 MB in all.
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 N185GS · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.