- Date
- September 9, 1993, 14:35 local (20:35 UTC)
- Place
- Watkins, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4719BCessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930909033739A
- Case key
- 18830
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 pilot's improper compensation for shifting winds.
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 pilot stated that the winds during the initial ground roll were 020 degrees to 040 degrees off runway 08 at 14 knots gusting to 17 knots. He further stated that the winds shifted to 360 degrees at the time the tail came off the runway and he was not able to maintain control. The airplane came to rest inverted at the edge of the runway.
Factual narrative
On September 9, 1993, at approximately 1435 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 180, N4719B, sustained substantial damage during the takeoff roll when it encountered variable crosswinds near Watkins, Colorado. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight.
The Pilot/Operator report prepared by the pilot stated that the winds were 020 degrees to 040 degrees off runway 08 at 14 knots gusting to 17 knots. The pilot further stated that the wind shifted to 360 degrees after the tail was off the runway. He was not able to maintain control of the airplane and it came to rest inverted on the edge of the runway. Damage occurred to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, wings, and propeller.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4719B
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2072602
- Airframe hours
- 1,716
- Engine
- Continental O-470-J, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ohmart, Walter A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 1993 · 13 hours before
- Airport
- FTG · Front Range, runway 8, 8,000 × 100 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
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,394 total · 191 in this make and model · 1,321 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N4719B · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.