- Date
- October 22, 2003, 17:15 local (Oct 23, 2003, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Montague, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N80543Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20031022028549A
- Case key
- 58242
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 failure to maintain directional control.
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
During a crosswind landing, the airplane veered off the runway, encountered a soft plowed field, and nosed over. The pilot was performing his second crosswind landing of the flight when a gust of wind caused the airplane to veer off the runway. He tried to steer the airplane through the freshly plowed field and back onto the runway when the airplane struck a berm and nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with any system during the event.
Factual narrative
On October 22, 2003, at 1715 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N80543, veered off the runway and nosed over while landing at Montague Siskiyou County Airport, Montague, California. The private pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 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 Montague Yreka Rohrer Airport at 1645.
The pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that he was practicing crosswind landings to runway 17. On his second landing, he applied full right rudder when a gust of wind pushed the airplane 40 to 50 feet left of the centerline. The plane veered off the runway and into a freshly plowed field. The pilot attempted to steer the airplane out of the field and onto the runway. The airplane hit a berm that put it airborne. The airplane dropped into a nose down attitude, the nose wheel sank into the ground, and the plane nosed over.
The Siskiyou Airport recorded winds of 270 at 12 knots at 1756.
In his written statement, the pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with any system during the event.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80543
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17266647
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jeffery A. Bailey
- Registered owner
- David and Kristine Weld
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SIY · Montague, CA
- Destination
- 1O5 · Montague, CA
- Airport
- SIY · Montague Siskiyou County, CA, runway 17
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 78 total · 78 in this make and model · 32 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.