- Date
- May 19, 1996, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wharton, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9131ACessna 170A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 23, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960519045969A
- Case key
- 19846
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
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve.
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 reported that, while landing on runway 14 at Wharton Municipal airport, Wharton, Texas, he 'lost control' of the airplane and it ground looped. Damage was sustained to the left wing, the engine mount, the left main landing gear attaching point, and left aileron.
Factual narrative
On May 19, 1996, at 1300 central daylight time, a Cessna 170A, N9131A, registered to and operated by a private owner, sustained substantial damage during landing near Wharton, Texas. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated near Laporte, Texas.
The pilot reported that, while landing on runway 14 at Wharton Municipal airport, Wharton, Texas, he "lost control" of the airplane and it ground looped. Damage was sustained to the left wing, the engine mount, the left main landing gear attaching point, and left aileron.
The pilot notified the NTSB of the accident by telephone three days following the accident. Numerous attempts to obtain a completed NTSB form 6120.1/2 (Pilot/Operator Report) were unsuccessful.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9131A
- Reported as
- Cessna 170A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18890
- Engine
- Continental C-145-2, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Cecil B. Ellis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- T41 · La Porte, TX
- Airport
- 5R5 · Wharton Municipal, runway 14, 5,002 × 75 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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 150 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 20 knots, gusting 25
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.