- Date
- May 18, 2000, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Borrego Springs, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9955XCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000518005169A
- Case key
- 49226
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 crosswind condition and his subsequent failure to maintain directional control during landing.
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
According to the airport manager, the wind was reported to be from the southwest at 8 to 10 knots, with higher gusts. The pilot stated that on the landing rollout he encountered a gusting, quartering tailwind, which lifted the left wing and caused the airplane to veer to the right side of the runway. The airplane then ground looped into the soft sand beside the runway. The pilot said there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane.
Factual narrative
On May 18, 2000, at 1400 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 185, N9955X, ground looped while landing on runway 25 at the Borrego Valley Airport, Borrego Springs, California. During the ground loop, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing was bent. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated from the Ramona, California, airport at 1315 as a cross-country flight to Borrego Springs.
According to the airport manager, the wind was reported to be from the southwest at 8 to 10 knots, with higher gusts.
The pilot stated that on the landing rollout he encountered a gusting, quartering tailwind, which lifted the left wing and caused the airplane to veer to the right side of the runway. The airplane then ground looped into the soft sand beside the runway. The pilot said there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9955X
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 185-0155
- Airframe hours
- 2,311
- Engine
- Continental IO-470F, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles L. Toner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 22, 1999 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- RNM · Ramona, CA
- Destination
- L08
- Airport
- L08 · Borrego Valley, runway 25, 5,000 × 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
- 77
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,038 total · 867 in this make and model · 873 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PSP, 35 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 N9955X · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.