- Date
- June 6, 2015, 12:49 local (17:49 UTC)
- Place
- Waterloo, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5067ECessna 180B
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 11, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Textron Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150606008569A
- Case key
- 91377
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 incorrect installation of the secondary seat stop reel which resulted in the pilot's loss of control when the seat moved full aft during takeoff.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the seat slid to its full aft position. He was unable to reach the control pedals and attempted to abort the takeoff. The pilot was not able to control the airplane and it yawed left into a ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer, right wing, and right aileron. A postaccident examination by the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge and Textron Aviation revealed the secondary seat stop reel was not installed according to the manufacturer's guidelines. The incorrect installation prevented the primary seat adjustment mechanism from fully engaging into the holes in the seat rail.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the seat slid to its full aft position. He was unable to reach the control pedals and attempted to abort the takeoff. The pilot was not able to control the airplane and it yawed left into a ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer, right wing, and right aileron. A postaccident examination by the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge and Textron Aviation revealed the secondary seat stop reel was not installed according to the manufacturer's guidelines. The incorrect installation prevented the primary seat adjustment mechanism from fully engaging into the holes in the seat rail.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5067E
- Reported as
- Cessna 180B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 50367
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 4,704
- Engine
- Continental Motors O-470-K, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rickenbach Brothers Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Rickenbach Brothers Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 23, 2014
- Departed
- ALO · Waterloo, IA
- Destination
- 88C · Palmyra, WI
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- ALO · Waterloo Rgnl, runway 18, 6,003 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 16, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 14,941 total · 445 in this make and model · 9,725 as pilot in command · 253 in the last 90 days · 49 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KALO, 1 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 30, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.9 MB in all.
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 N5067E · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.