- Date
- April 8, 2001, 14:35 local (18:35 UTC)
- Place
- Penrose, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2488DCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010408006159A
- Case key
- 52043
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
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing rollout while landing in a crosswind which resulted in a ground swerve and substantial damage to the aircraft.
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 stated that he was making a wheel landing with about a 90-degree crosswind, and as he started to bring the tail of the aircraft down, it drifted to the left side of the runway. He further stated that he tried to control the aircraft with right rudder but it caused the ground loop. He said that prior to the accident there had been no malfunctions to the aircraft, or its systems.
Factual narrative
On April 8, 2001, about 1435 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N2488D, registered to, and operated by a private owner, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a ground loop during landing at Penrose, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The commercial-rated pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. The flight originated from Charleston, South Carolina, the same day, about 1230.
The pilot stated that he was making a wheel landing with about a 90-degree crosswind, and as he started to bring the tail of the aircraft down, it drifted to the left side of the runway. The pilot further stated that he had tried to control the aircraft with right rudder, which caused the ground loop. He said it happened fast, and he did not have time to apply power or ailerons to save the aircraft, and the left side of the cabin, wing, and landing gear were damaged. The pilot stated that prior to the accident there had been no malfunctions to the aircraft, or its systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2488D
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20640
- Airframe hours
- 5,153
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental O-300, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William C. Andersen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2000 · 77 hours before
- Departed
- JZI · Charleston, SC
- Destination
- NC22 · Penrose, NC
- Airport
- NC22 · Transylvania County Airport, runway 09, 3,100 × 150 ft
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- August 21, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,654 total · 176 in this make and model · 4,421 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 7 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- AVL, 10 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.
Other investigations on N2488D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.