- Date
- April 22, 2003, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Angwin, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7821KCessna 180J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20030422009419A
- Case key
- 56869
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 conditions and failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll.
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
The airplane veered off the runway to the right and came to rest nose down in a ditch. The pilot had received an airport advisory from another airplane that the airport was experiencing a crosswind from the west and recommended runway 16. During the landing roll, with the tail still airborne, a gust of wind pushed the airplane to the right despite full rudder control input and braking by the pilot to the left.
Factual narrative
On April 22, 2003, at 1430 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 180J, N7821K, veered off the runway and collided with a ditch while landing at Angwin Airport, Angwin, California. The airplane was owned and operated by the private pilot under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot was not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated at Angwin at 1130.
The pilot stated in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that he had received an airport advisory from another airplane that the airport was experiencing winds from the west and runway 16 was recommended. He stated that during the landing roll, with the tail of the airplane still airborne, a gust of wind forced the airplane to the right despite full rudder control input and braking to the left. The airplane veered off the runway to the right and came to rest nose down in a ditch.
The closest aviation weather reporting station is at Sonoma County Airport, 18 miles to the southwest. The winds recorded at Sonoma Country Airport for 1353 and 1453 were calm. The pilot reported that the winds at Angwin, at the time of the accident, were 260 degrees at 5 to 10 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7821K
- Reported as
- Cessna 180J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18052755
- Airframe hours
- 3,240.8
- Engine
- Continental O-470S, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2003 · 14.7 hours before
- Departed
- 2O3 · St Helena, CA
- Destination
- 2O3 · St Helena, CA
- Airport
- 2O3 · Angwin-Parrett Field, runway 16, 3,217 × 50 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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- February 7, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 717 total · 547 in this make and model · 710 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- KSTS
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 N7821K · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.