# NTSB SEA02LA041: Cessna 180, N2434C, Pacific City, OR, February 15, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 15, 2002, 12:20 local (20:20 UTC) - Place: Pacific City, OR - Coordinates: 45.190174, -123.960571 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.1902&lon=-123.9606&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 21, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Portland FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 54213 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA02LA041 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54213/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54213 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA02LA041 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for local wind conditions during the landing roll. Factors include unfavorable winds, and a swampy area adjacent to the runway. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Nose over, landing - roll - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - unfavorable wind (contributing factor) - terrain condition - swampy (contributing factor) ## Analysis While landing on a 30 foot-wide runway in steady crosswind conditions, the aircraft encountered an unexpected gust of wind. Although the pilot tried to correct for the unfavorable wind conditions, his attempts to do so were not adequate to keep the aircraft from departing the side of the runway. After departing the runway surface, the aircraft encountered a swampy area, and nosed over in about nine inches of water. The pilot later realized that wind funneling between buildings and trees located alongside the runway had created a funnel effect that produced areas of crosswind gusts. ## Factual narrative On February 15, 2002, at 1220 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 180, N2434C, nosed over during the landing roll at Pacific City State Airport, Pacific City, Oregon. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 pleasure flight, which departed McMinnville, Oregon, about 30 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. There was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, while he was on final, he could tell that there was a fairly constant crosswind of a little over 10 knots, accompanied by "...some light turbulence." When the aircraft was about 30 feet above the ground, the pilot felt "...the burble caused by the wind disturbed by buildings and trees, but no gusts." A few moments after touching down on the centerline of the 30 foot-wide runway, the aircraft was hit by "a strong gust of wind," and veered toward the right side of the runway. Although the pilot attempted to correct for the unfavorable wind conditions, his attempts to do so were not adequate, and the aircraft ultimately departed the right side of the runway. After leaving the runway surface, the aircraft encountered an adjacent swampy area and nosed over in about nine inches of water. The pilot later stated that immediately after the accident, he realized that the openings between the buildings and trees had caused a "funnel effect," which resulted in limited areas of gusty winds across the runway surface. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2434C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2434C), registered now, S/N 30734, built 1954 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 180 - Registry model: [Cessna 180](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (registry code 2072602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 30734 - Airframe hours: 2019 - Engines: Continental O-470-J 235 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: John M. Rockwood - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: MMV, McMinnville, OR - Destination: PFC, Pacific City, OR - Airport: PFC, Pacific City, runway 14, 1,875 × 30 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review April 28, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 842 total, 393 in this make and model, 767 as pilot in command, 46 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 235° at 12 knots, gusting 20 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F ## 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 20020215001999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020215001999A), Feb 15, 2002: Cessna 180, Pacific City, OR, No damage. (.19) On February 15, 2002, at 1220 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 180, N2434C, nosed over during the landing roll at Pacific City State Airport, Pacific… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 27, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54213. 332 KB in all. - Supplement S (item 1, .PDF, 34 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40155748&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20S-Master.PDF - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 2, .PDF, 298 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40387302&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF 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.