# NTSB LAX04CA160: Cessna C195A, N9869A, Gila Bend, AZ, March 11, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: March 11, 2004, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC) - Place: Gila Bend, AZ - Coordinates: 32.958057, -112.678054 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9581&lon=-112.6781&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 2, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 58900 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04CA160 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58900/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA160 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain directional control, resulting in a ground loop. Factors in the accident were the pilot's unfamiliarity with the airplane and the delayed remedial action of the flight instructor. ## 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 - lack of familiarity with aircraft, pilot in command (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - remedial action - delayed, check pilot (contributing factor) - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The airplane ground looped while attempting to land. The purpose of the flight was for the certified flight instructor (CFI) to give the private pilot a check out. The pilot completed about four full stall landings, all of which he kept drifting to the left during the landing roll. On the next landing attempt, the pilot touched down, and drifted to the left. The CFI instructed him to input left rudder, but the pilot was unable to steer due to the tail wheel locking. The airplane began a long turn to the right and ground looped in the same direction. The pilot had bought the airplane the day before the accident and had accumulated a total of 3.6 hours of flight time in the same make and model. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On March 11, 2004, about 1600 mountain standard time, a Cessna 195A, N9869A, ground looped while attempting to land at Gila Bend Municipal Airport (E63), Gila Bend, Arizona. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot and certified flight instructor (CFI) were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The instructional cross-country flight departed Wickenburg Municipal Airport (E25), Wickenburg, Arizona, about 1500, with the planned destination of E63. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was attempting to land on runway 04. After touchdown, he lost control of the airplane and ground looped. He had bought the airplane the day before the accident and had accumulated 3.6 hours of flight time in the same make and model in the last 30 days. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. In a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, the CFI reported that the purpose of the flight was to give the pilot a check out. After completing several full stall landings at E25, they turned off the runway with the intention to taxi back to the runway for another departure. While turning onto the taxiway, the pilot stated that the airplane would not turn and the steering controls had become ineffectual. The CFI instructed him to alternate pressure on the rudder pedals in an effort to unlock the tail wheel. The steering worked normally after that, and they departed the airport without incident. The CFI and pilot continued the flight en route to E63, where the wind conditions were light. They completed about four full stall landings, all of which the pilot kept drifting to the left during the landing roll. On the next landing attempt, the pilot touched down and again drifted to the left. The CFI instructed him to input left rudder, but the pilot was unable to steer due to the tail wheel locking. The airplane began a long turn to the right and ground looped in the same direction. ## Aircraft - Registration: N9869A (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Cessna C195A - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 7571 - Engines: Jacobs L6MB reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Beau R. Bradley - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: E25, Wickenburg, AZ - Destination: E63, Gila Bend, AZ - Airport: E63, Gila Bend Municipal Airport, runway 04 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; last flight review April 26, 2003; flight hours: 3,369 total, 4 in this make and model, 57 in the last 90 days, 27 in the last 30 days - Check pilot; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; flight hours: 14,000 total, 4,000 in this make and model ## 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040311007589A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040311007589A), Mar 11, 2004: Cessna 195A, Gila Bend, AZ, Substantial damage. (-23) Owner/operator was receiving a checkout in his newly purchased CE-195 aircraft for insurance purposes. He hired a CE-195 "expert" for this purpose and… 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.