# NTSB FTW97LA279: Cessna 180, N9320C, Carlisle, AR, July 22, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 22, 1997, 02:00 local (07:00 UTC) - Place: Carlisle, AR - Coordinates: 34.780715, -91.739418 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7807&lon=-91.7394&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 5 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 30, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 20290 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW97LA279 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/20290/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA279 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll (at night). ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - roll/run - stolen aircraft/unauthorized use - light condition - night (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - encountered, pilot in command - Dragged wing,rotor,pod,float or tail/skid, takeoff - roll/run ## Analysis Skid marks and ground scars indicated that the non-certificated pilot, who was not authorized to use the airplane, lost control during the night takeoff roll. The airplane swerved to the right and went off the runway into the grass, and the left wingtip and horizontal stabilizer dragged on the ground. The airplane was found abandoned beside the runway when airport personnel arrived for work at 0530. An investigation conducted by local law enforcement personnel revealed that the pilot was the airplane owner's 18-year-old son, who had received approximately 6 hours of dual instruction in the airplane, but had not been endorsed for solo flight. ## Factual narrative On July 22, 1997, approximately 0200 central daylight time, a Cessna 180 airplane, N9320C, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during takeoff roll on runway 27 at the Carlisle Municipal Airport in Carlisle, Arkansas. The non-certificated pilot and his four passengers were not injured. The airplane was owned by a private individual, and its use by the pilot was not authorized. No flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal local flight and night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. During a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC), the owner of the fixed base operation (FBO) where the airplane was hangared reported that when he arrived at the airport about 0530, he discovered that someone had broken into his hangar. Two of his airplanes had been pulled out of the hangar and left on the ramp, and the accident airplane was missing. He found the missing airplane abandoned in the grass approximately 40 feet north of the edge of runway 9/27. A FAA inspector examined the tailwheel-equipped airplane and reported that it came to rest upright on a northerly heading. The left wing tip, the left horizontal stabilizer, and the left elevator sustained structural damage. The left wheel and the left door separated from the airplane. Skid marks were visible on the runway leading from east to west and veering toward the north edge of the runway, and ground scars corresponding to the left wing tip and the left horizontal stabilizer were found in the grass to the north of the runway. During a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB IIC, the Chief of the Carlisle Police Department reported that his investigation determined that the airplane owner's 18-year-old son along with four of his friends had taken the airplane from the hangar and "crashed it on takeoff." A follow-up telephone interview (conducted by the NTSB IIC) with the FBO owner, who was a flight instructor, revealed that he had given the pilot approximately 6 hours of dual instruction in the airplane. He had not endorsed the pilot's logbook for solo flight in the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9320C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9320C), registered now, S/N 31718, built 1955 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 180 - Registry model: [Cessna 180](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (registry code 2072602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 31718 - Engines: Continental O-470-J 225 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Jack E. Evans - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 9, 1996 - Departed: 4M3 - Airport: 4M3, Carlisle Municipal, runway 27, 4,500 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 18; medical: unknown; seat: left; flight hours: 6 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/bright - Wind: 240° at 5 knots - Visibility: 5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: LIT, 26 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 19970722019499A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970722019499A), Jul 22, 1997: Cessna 180, Carlisle, AR, Substantial damage. Aircraft was involved in a theft when it ground looped on takeoff. (-23) a Cessna 180, N9320C, registered to a private individual, was stolen from a hangar 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.