- Date
- July 9, 1999, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Beckwourth, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6XSCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 14, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990709008999A
- Case key
- 46807
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 wind conditions and subsequent 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
The pilot said he was landing on runway 25 and encountered a dust devil on touchdown. The airplane veered off the runway and into the dirt area beside the pavement, collapsing the right main landing gear.
Factual narrative
On July 9, 1999, about 1400 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 185, N6XS, veered off the runway and collapsed the right landing gear while landing at the Nervino airport near Beckwourth, California. Skydive Lake Tahoe operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The local personal flight originated at 1300. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot stated he was landing on runway 25 when he encountered a dust devil on touchdown and veered into the dirt beside the runway. The right main gear strut broke and the right wing hit the ground.
The closest official weather reporting station is the Reno, Nevada, airport, which is 33 miles from the accident site. At the time, the station was reporting winds of 3 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6XS
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1851424
- Airframe hours
- 4,500
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Skydive Lake Tahoe
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1999 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- O02
- Airport
- O02 · Nervino, runway 25, 4,660 × 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
- 29
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 175 total · 20 in this make and model · 55 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RNO, 33 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.