# NTSB SEA01LA117: Piper PA-18, N83464, Billings, MT, June 11, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 10, 2001, 18:57 local (Jun 11, 2001, 00:57 UTC) - Place: Billings, MT - Coordinates: 45.650108, -108.379875 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.6501&lon=-108.3799&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 20, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA-FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 52462 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA01LA117 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/52462/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA01LA117 ## Probable cause The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind conditions. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - crosswind (contributing factor) - Dragged wing,rotor,pod,float or tail/skid, landing - roll ## Analysis The pilot was landing his PA-18 tailwheel equipped aircraft on runway 07. Winds at the time of the accident were reported as 020 degrees at 16 knots with gusts to 21 knots. As the aircraft was decelerating a gust of wind picked up the left wing and the aircraft's right wing impacted terrain. The pilot reported to ARFF personnel that he "lost control of the aircraft." ## Factual narrative On June 10, 2001, at 1857 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-18, N83464, registered to and being flown by a private pilot, incurred substantial damage during a loss of control and subsequent wing impact with terrain during the landing roll at the Billings Logan International airport, Billings, Montana. The pilot was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions existed with gusty winds, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was personal, was operated under 14 CFR 91, and had originated from Billings approximately 45 minutes earlier. The pilot reported that he landed on runway 07 and just before exiting the runway a gust of wind picked up the left wing. The aircraft's right wing impacted the ground and the aircraft departed the runway. The pilot regained control and continued taxiing the aircraft until an airport aircraft rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF) unit met the aircraft to assess aircraft damage and pilot injury. The ARFF supervisor reported that the right wing was bent upwards approximately 10 inches at a point where the right strut attached to the underside of the wing. The responding ARFF crew interviewed the pilot immediately after their arrival and reported that the pilot told them "I had landed but was attempting to keep my speed up because I thought there was another aircraft landing behind me on Runway 7. I lost control of the aircraft, dipped the right wing and left the pavement north of Runway 7." (Refer to attached report) The surface winds recorded at Billings at 1856 were reported as 020 degrees magnetic at 16 knots gusting to 21 knots. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft during the event. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N83464](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N83464), registered now, S/N 18-7609144, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-18 - Registry model: [Piper PA-18-150](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-150) (registry code 7101828) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-7609144 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-A2B 150 hp reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Andrikopoulos, George B. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 9, 2000, 40 hours before - Departed: BIL, Billings, MT - Airport: BIL, Billings-Logan International, runway 07, 5,500 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 43; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 21, 1999; seat: front; flight hours: 688 total, 164 in this make and model, 629 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 16 knots, gusting 21 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.65 inHg - Observed at: BIL ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010610011909A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010610011909A), Jun 10, 2001: Piper PA18, Billings, MT, No damage. (-23)The pilot stated that after landing and slowing down to turn off on a taxiway, a gust of wind struck the aircraft from the left causing the aircraft to… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.