# NTSB LAX01LA046: Cessna 305A, N65071, Mokuleia, HI, November 29, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 29, 2000, 11:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Mokuleia, HI - Coordinates: 21.570623, -158.120895 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.5706&lon=-158.1209&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 2, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 50709 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX01LA046 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50709/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA046 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for the existing crosswind condition, which resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent ground loop. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - crosswind - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command ## Analysis The airplane landed with a quartering tailwind and ground looped. The active runway was runway 8, and reported winds were from the southwest at 4 knots. The pilot stated that as the airplane began a turn to the right he added full left rudder and brake. The airplane continued in a right turn, and the left main landing gear broke. The airplane was examined and no evidence of mechanical failure was observed on the landing gear or the brake system. ## Factual narrative On November 29, 2000, at 1100 hours Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 305A, N65071, ground looped on the landing rollout out from runway 8 at the Dillingham Airfield Airport, Mokuleia, Hawaii. The airplane, operated by Honolulu Soaring Club, Inc., under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a glider towing operation, sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the positioning flight. No flight plan had been filed. The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at Dillingham Airfield reported winds at the time of the accident to be from 200 degrees at 4 knots. The operator reported winds from 300 degrees at 3 knots. The pilot reported that the winds were from 280 degrees at 3 knots. In the pilot's written statement to the Safety Board, he stated that he made a normal landing. Approximately 50 mph, he lowered the tail wheel while maintaining runway heading. On the rollout the airplane made a "moderate" right turn, and the airplane was now heading about 120 degrees. He stated that he applied full left rudder and brake. The airplane stabilized on that heading until his airspeed read about 15 mph. The pilot reported that as the airplane was beginning to ground loop the left main gear broke at the attachment point. In an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot stated that he was returning to the airport after towing a glider aloft and landed with a 5-knot right quartering tailwind. On the landing rollout he felt the airplane begin to nose to the right and applied full left rudder; however, he could not stop the turn to the right. The airplane veered off to the right and ground looped. He further stated that there were no mechanical discrepancies noted with the airplane. The FAA inspector, who conducted the on-scene inspection, reported that no preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the landing gear or brakes. He indicated that the pilot might have unknowingly activated the right brake during the accident sequence, which resulted in the skid mark on the runway. The inspector stated that corrosion was not evident, and that the fracture surfaces of the landing gear contained sharp edges and "shear lips." The inspector reported that as the airplane passed through 90 degrees of turn, the rate of turn increased, skipped sideways, and the left main gear failed. The propeller blades contacted the pavement and the airplane fell on it's left side. The inspector also stated that when they arrived on-scene the winds were from the northwest about 5 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N65071](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N65071), registered now, S/N 2036 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 305A - Registry model: [Cessna Ector 305A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-ector-305a) (registry code 2073902) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2036 - Airframe hours: 3997 - Engines: Continental O-470-11 213 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Registered owner: Honolulu Soaring Club Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 14, 2000, 150 hours before - Departed: HDH - Airport: HDH, Dillingham Airfield, runway 8, 9,007 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: front; flight hours: 25,000 total, 40 in this make and model, 19,700 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,500 ft broken - Temperature: 174 °F, dew point 158 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: HNL, 25 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20001129039719A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001129039719A), Nov 29, 2000: Cessna 305A, Mokuleia, HI, No damage. (-23)Aircraft landed Dillingham airfield, runway 08, swerved and left main landing gear strut broke, left wig broken at spar approximately 3 feet in from tip… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.