# NTSB FTW01LA046: Cessna 177RG, N45373, Del Rio, TX, January 5, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 5, 2001, 17:01 local (23:01 UTC) - Place: Del Rio, TX - Coordinates: 30, -100 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0000&lon=-100.0000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 30, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 50880 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW01LA046 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50880/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA046 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for the winds. A factor was the windshear. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, takeoff - initial climb - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - windshear (contributing factor) - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll to the northwest, the airplane had lifted off the runway and traveled along the ground when the left wing was "hit by wind shear." The aircraft drifted to the left and the left wing impacted a tree. The airplane struck the ground, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest nose down in a ravine. The pilot reported the wind from the northwest at 10-12 knots. ## Factual narrative On January 5, 2001, at 1701 central standard time, a Cessna 177RG, single-engine airplane, N45373, sustained substantial damage when the left wing struck trees during the takeoff/initial climb from the Wardlaw White Ranch, near Del Rio, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Neither the private pilot nor his two passengers were injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the planned cross-country flight to the Angleton/Lake Jackson Brazoria County Airport, between Angleton and Lake Jackson, Texas, and a flight plan was not filed. The personal flight was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that the private ranch gravel airstrip (approximately 1,850 feet long and 60 feet wide) was located approximately 40 nautical miles north of Del Rio, Texas. Earlier that day, the pilot had made his first landing at the airstrip when he and his passengers arrived from Lake Jackson, Texas. Later that day the group planned to depart the ranch and return to Lake Jackson. During the takeoff roll to the northwest, the airplane had lifted off the runway and traveled along the ground when the left wing "was suddenly hit by wind shear causing the left wing to go down and aircraft drift to the left suddenly." The left wing struck a cedar bush. Subsequently, the airplane veered left off the runway, struck mesquite brush, and spun around approximately 20-30 degrees. The pilot pulled aft on the yoke and pulled the throttle to idle. The airplane struck the ground, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest upright in a ravine. The pilot reported clear skies with the wind from the northwest at 10 knots, and a temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The FAA inspector, who responded to the site, found that cedar bark and limbs were missing from one tree and numerous branches were missing from the mesquite brush. The airplane was resting nose down in the ravine. The FAA inspector found the outboard three feet of the left wing destroyed, both horizontal stabilizers crushed aft, and the fuselage twisted. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N45373](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N45373-2012-11-09), registration cancelled 2012-11-09, S/N 177RG1116, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 177RG - Registry model: [Cessna 177RG](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-177rg) (registry code 2073709) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-a1b6d) (registry code 41593, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 177RG1116 - Airframe hours: 5064.2 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Burt E. Moritz - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 1, 2000, 50 hours before - Departed: NONE, DEL RIO, TX - Destination: LBX, Angleton, TX - Airport: NONE, Wardlaw White Ranch, runway 315, 1,850 × 60 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 57; injuries: none; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review January 31, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 1,692 total, 1,310 in this make and model, 1,591 as pilot in command, 22 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 315° at 12 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 12 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010105001699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010105001699A), Jan 5, 2001: Cessna 177RG, Loma Alta, TX, Substantial damage. (-23) On January 5, 2001, at approximately 1700 hrs., a Cessna 177RG owned and operated by[privacy data omitted],crashed after striking a tree with his left… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.