# NTSB FTW01LA122: Cessna 140, N77241, Fort Worth, TX, May 20, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 20, 2001, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC) - Place: Fort Worth, TX - Coordinates: 32.570835, -97.586944 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.5708&lon=-97.5869&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 9, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 52294 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW01LA122 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/52294/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA122 ## Probable cause the inadvertent ground loop during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - crosswind (contributing factor) - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) ## Analysis the pilot reported that the tail-wheel equipped airplane ground looped after encountering a "sudden right crosswind gust" during the landing roll. The left wing contacted the runway, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported the wind was from 220-240 degrees at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 knots. The wind at the nearest weather observation facility (approximately 32 nautical miles northeast of the accident site) was reported from 200 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 18 knots. ## Factual narrative On May 20, 2001, at 1415 central daylight time, a Cessna 140, single-engine tail-wheel equipped airplane, N77241, ground looped during landing on runway 17 at the Bourland Field Airport, near Fort Worth, Texas. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The local flight departed Bourland Field approximately 1400. The pilot reported to the FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, that a "strong crosswind occurred from the right causing a venturi effect between two hangers adjacent to the runway." The pilot further reported that the "right wing lifted up, the airplane ground looped, and he could not correct for the ground loop." On the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot stated the wind was from 220-240 degrees at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 knots. During the second landing, the airplane was rolling on the centerline of the runway when a "sudden right crosswind gust from the hangar area on the west side [of the runway] lifted the right wing into a ground loop." The left wing contacted the runway, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest on the west edge of the runway. The FAA inspector examined the airplane and found that the firewall and left wing sustained substantial damage. The left main landing gear was collapsed. The wind at Fort Worth Meacham Airport (approximately 32 nautical miles northeast of the accident site) was reported from 200 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 18 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N77241](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N77241-2003-09-03), registration cancelled 2003-09-03, S/N 11703, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 140 - Registry model: [Cessna 140](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-140) (registry code 2071602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C85 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (registry code 17008, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 11703 - Airframe hours: 3200 - Engines: Continental C85-12F 85 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Andrew C. Weatherly - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 16, 2001, 5 hours before - Departed: 50F, Fort Worth, TX - Destination: 50F, Fort Worth, TX - Airport: 50F, Bourland Field, runway 17, 4,092 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review June 8, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 230 total, 45 in this make and model, 177 as pilot in command, 5 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 200° at 12 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.61 inHg - Observed at: FTW, 32 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010520011729A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010520011729A), May 20, 2001: Cessna 140, Fort Worth, TX, No damage. (-23)On may 20, 2001, the pilot was pilot-in-command of N77241, a Cessna 170 aircraft. The pilot owns the aircraft. He stated that he was practicing "stop and… 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.