- Date
- October 5, 1997, 11:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Oakland, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N17SRCessna 185F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971005029979A
- Case key
- 29971
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 existing crosswind condition, which resulted in a loss of 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
On the initial takeoff roll on runway 33, the pilot lifted the tail of the aircraft and was struck by a crosswind gust that caused the left wing to be lifted off the ground. The right wing struck the pavement. The pilot pulled back on the throttle, but the aircraft continued to depart the left side of the runway and came to rest in a nose down position. The winds at the time were from 290 degrees at 13 knots.
Factual narrative
On October 5, 1997 at 1115 hours Pacific daylight time, the right wing of a Cessna 185F, N17SR, contacted runway 33, the aircraft veered left and came to rest nose down at the Oakland, California, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The pilot/owner, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed to Modesto, California.
The pilot reported that the tower had cleared him for takeoff on runway 33. He said he started the initial takeoff roll and lifted the tail of the aircraft, then a gust of wind caused the right wing tip to strike the pavement. At this point the plane veered left, and the pilot pulled back on the throttle. The aircraft departed the left side of the runway and came to rest in a nose down position.
The winds at the time of the accident were from 290 degrees at 13 knots.
An FAA inspector established on-scene that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the aircraft or engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N17SR
- Reported as
- Cessna 185F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 185-02424
- Airframe hours
- 2,218
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sheldon C. Ramsay
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 19, 1997 · 29 hours before
- Destination
- MOD · Modesto, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- OAK · Metro Oakland Intl, runway 33, 3,366 × 33 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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 223 total · 28 in this make and model · 63 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OAK
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 N17SR · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.