# NTSB SEA03LA150: Cessna 185, Sinclair Is., WA, July 19, 2003

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: July 19, 2003, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place: Sinclair Is., WA
- Coordinates: 48.621665, -122.682777
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.6217&lon=-122.6828&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 3 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report December 30, 2003
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 57542
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA03LA150
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57542/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA03LA150

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while taxiing for takeoff.  Factors contributing to the accident were the ditch and the fence.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- Loss of control - on ground/water, taxi - to takeoff
  - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause)
- On ground/water collision with object, taxi - to takeoff
  - object - fence (contributing factor)
  - terrain condition - ditch (contributing factor)

## Analysis

The pilot was taxiing for takeoff on a crowned grass airstrip which was bordered on both sides by ditches when the airplane started going sideways.  The right landing gear went off the side of the airstrip, into a ditch, clipped a fence, and proceeded into an adjacent pasture, rotating 90 degrees to the right before coming to a stop in an upright position.  There was substantial damage to the underside of the right elevator, the left elevator and stabilizer, the right aileron, and the right outboard underwing area.

## Factual narrative

On July 19, 2003, approximately 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Canadian registered Cessna 185, C-FHMY, registered to a private individual and being flown by a German certificated private pilot, sustained substantial damage after a loss of control while taxiing for takeoff at a private grass strip on Sinclair Island, Washington.  The pilot and his two passengers were not injured.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, and a flight plan was not filed.  The flight, which was personal, was operated under 14 CFR Part 91, and was originating from the private strip at the time of the accident.

In a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that as he was taxiing for takeoff on a crowned grass airstrip which was bordered on both sides by ditches, the airplane started going sideways.  The pilot stated that "somehow" he got the wheel off the strip and into the bordering ditch.  The aircraft subsequently "clipped" a fence, rotated 90 degrees to the right, and came to rest in a upright position in an adjacent pasture.

An FAA inspector, who traveled to the accident site, reported substantial damage to the underside of the right elevator, the left elevator and stabilizer, the right aileron, and the right outboard underwing area.

## Aircraft

- Registration: C-FHMY (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 185
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 185-02349
- Airframe hours: 6237.4
- Engines: Continental IO-570D 285 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Registered owner: Alfred Brust
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, June 26, 2003, 18.8 hours before
- Departed: Sinclaire, Is., WA
- Destination: Urban, WA

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; injuries: none; seat: left

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observed at: FHR, 18 nm away

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.

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