- Date
- March 18, 2008, 16:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Moab, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N180LHCessna 180H
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080318012069A
- Case key
- 67698
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 wind conditions and failure to maintain directional control. A contributing factor was the unexpected dust devil.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
While waiting in line to takeoff, the pilot observed a Super Cub and a Cessna 172 depart, and on the basis of how those airplanes behaved, he thought that the winds were calm. The pilot encountered a dust devil and crosswind during the takeoff roll. The airplane became airborne, settled to the ground off the runway surface, and struck a runway distance marker. Examination of the airplane revealed a dent in the horizontal stabilizer.
Factual narrative
On March 18, 2008, about 1630 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 180, N180LH, collided with a runway sign during takeoff at Moab, Utah. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The personal cross-country flight was departing en route to Mineral Canyon. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot stated that he taxied to runway 21, and watched a Super Cub and a Cessna 172 depart. He thought that the winds were calm. During the takeoff, he encountered a crosswind, and the airplane drifted off the side of the runway.
The pilot said that the left wing started to fly, so he applied aileron into the wind and right rudder. The airplane went airborne, and then settled off the runway surface parallel to the runway. He heard the airplane hit something as it lifted off. The airplane struck a runway distance marker. On climb out, he noticed that the elevator trim would not work. He returned to the field and landed. Examination of the airplane revealed a dent in the horizontal stabilizer.
The pilot reported that the airport manager said that the gust was a dust devil.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N180LH
- Reported as
- Cessna 180H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31708
- Airframe hours
- 3,830
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Larry Hubbert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2007
- Departed
- CNY · Moab, UT
- Destination
- Mineral Canyon, UT
- Airport
- CNY · Canyonlands Field, runway 21, 7,100 × 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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2007
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,632 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 47 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- CNY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.