- Date
- February 24, 1988, 16:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- Prescott, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N26AWCessna 180A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880224003419A
- Case key
- 25954
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 the dual primary cross country flight, the student was making the approach and landing at Prescott. The CFI said that the approach and touchdown were normal, however, the aircraft began drifting to the right in a gradual turn as the aircraft slowed. The student's control inputs to correct the right turn were unsuccessful and the aircraft ground looped in the soft soil off the right side of the runway. The CFI stated that he 'probably waited too long to take the aircraft' from the student, whom he described as 'an excellent student.' Subsequent examination of the aircraft by a repair station revealed that the tail wheel steering pawl was broken and would only steer the aircraft to the right and would not engage to the left at all. Examination of the cfi's logbook revealed that he only had about 150 hours as a CFI. All of the student's flight time was accrued in Cessna 120 & 180 model aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N26AW
- Reported as
- Cessna 180A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32544
- Airframe hours
- 5,630
- Engine
- Continental O-470-K, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Alex P. Whitmore
- Registered owner
- Martha H. Whitmore
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 10, 1987 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- E98 · Los Lunas, NM
- Destination
- PRC
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- PRC · Love Field, runway 3, 7,608 × 150 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
- 42
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 8,245 total · 52 in this make and model · 4,415 as pilot in command · 135 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 65 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PRC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.