- Date
- September 13, 1998, 16:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Watkins, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4037EPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980913023999A
- Case key
- 43924
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
Gusting winds which blew the aircraft inverted during taxi.
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
Following landing from a banner tow flight, the pilot was taxiing to parking and headed into the wind when a wind gust lifted the aircraft which then came to rest inverted. Reported wind velocity at the time was 9 knots with gusts to 18 knots.
Factual narrative
On September 13, 1998, at 1600 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150, N4037E, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during taxi at Aurora Air Park, Aurora, Colorado. The commercial pilot was not injured. The flight was a local area banner tow flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to information provided via the pilot report of the accident, the aircraft encountered a wind gust during taxi following landing and nosed over. The pilot said that the aircraft was heading into the wind and he was waiting for wing walkers to assist taxiing back to the hangar when a gust lifted the aircraft. He said he applied power to try and establish control; however, the aircraft rolled to the right and came to rest inverted.
The nearest weather reporting facility to the accident site was Denver international Airport, located approximately 6 miles north of Aurora Air Park. At the time of the accident they were reporting winds form 350 degrees magnetic heading at 9 knots with gusts to 18 knots. Terrain between the airports is flat farm land.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4037E
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7809043
- Airframe hours
- 2,832
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Banner Advertising, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 14, 1998 · 43 hours before
- Departed
- O1V
- Airport
- O1V · Aurora Airpark, runway 35, 2,500 × 35 ft, grass/turf
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 605 total · 64 in this make and model · 569 as pilot in command · 99 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 9 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DVX, 6 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.
Other investigations on N4037E · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.