- Date
- June 1, 1998, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Los Alamos, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1896CCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 1, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980601011549A
- Case key
- 20634
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 inadequate compensation for the wind conditions. Contributing factors were the crosswinds, the fence, and the ditch.
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 was performing a wheel landing on runway 27 (5,500 ft. x 75 ft., elevation 7,171 feet) which is located on top a mesa with trees lining the south side. He stated that he requested an airport advisory which gave the wind at S-SE for 10 knots with gusts to 20 knots. When the airplane touched down, it began to 'weathervane,' and it exited the runway to the left striking a ditch and fence. The density altitude was 10,459 feet, at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 1, 1998, at 1500 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N1896C, was substantially damaged during landing roll near Los Alamos, New Mexico. The private pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. The airplane was registered jointly to two individuals and was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight which originated in Espanola, New Mexico, 15 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
According to the pilot's accident report and a telephone conversation with the Investigator-In-Charge, the pilot stated that he was performing a wheel landing on runway 27 (5,500 ft. X 75 ft., elevation 7,171 feet), which is located on top a mesa with trees lining the south side. He stated that he requested an airport advisory which gave the wind at S-SE for 10 knots with gusts to 20 knots. The pilot stated that when the airplane touched down, it began to "weather vain," and it exited the runway to the left striking a ditch and fence. Both wings were substantially damaged as well as the landing gear and propeller.
At the time of the accident, density altitude was 10,459 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1896C
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26041
- Airframe hours
- 4,197
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Earl W. Backenstow
- Registered owner
- Lloyd Hunt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1998 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- Q14 · Espanola, NM
- Destination
- LAM · NM
- Airport
- LAM · Los Alamos, runway 27, 5,500 × 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
- 60
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 520 total · 140 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAM
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 N1896C · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.