- Date
- September 12, 2015, 16:00 local (Sep 13, 2015, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Delta Junction, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4763UCessna 180H
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150912017149A
- Case key
- 92023
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 failure to attain and maintain yaw control during the approach and attempted go around, which resulted in impact with trees and terrain.
Findings · 3
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 of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that he was making an approach to an airstrip along the bank of a river. During the approach to landing, on short final, the airplane encountered a right quartering tailwind. The airplane drifted left of course and the sink rate increased beyond what the pilot had planned. The pilot reported that he added power to go around, but did not apply enough right rudder to compensate for wind and the power setting. Subsequently, the airplane yawed left, impacted trees, and bounced one time before coming to rest on a gravel bar. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, aileron, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that he was making an approach to an airstrip along the bank of a river. During the approach to landing, on short final, the airplane encountered a right quartering tailwind. The airplane drifted left of course and the sink rate increased beyond what the pilot had planned. The pilot reported that he added power to go around, but did not apply enough right rudder to compensate for wind and the power setting. Subsequently, the airplane yawed left, impacted trees, and bounced one time before coming to rest on a gravel bar. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, aileron, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4763U
- Reported as
- Cessna 180H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18051463
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 3,808
- Engine
- Continental Motors O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2015
- Departed
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- Delta Junction, AK
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
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 9, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 488 total · 198 in this make and model · 420 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- PABI, 29 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 5, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 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 N4763U · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.