- Date
- April 27, 2005, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Eureka, MT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1387QCessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050427005699I
- Case key
- 61383
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 failure to adequately compensate for the wind conditions during the landing roll. Factors include a 10 knot crosswind, with gusts up to 15 knots, and a taxiway sign near the point where the aircraft exited the runway.
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
During the landing roll, the aircraft encountered a gust of wind, and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. The aircraft therefore exited the side of the runway, where the horizontal stabilizer collided with a taxiway sign. The taxiway sign was knocked over and the horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage. There were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft. At the time of the accident, there was a crosswind of 10 knots with gusts to 15 knots.
Factual narrative
On April 27, 2005, about 1300 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N1387Q, registered to and flown by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with a taxiway sign during landing at Eureka Airport, Eureka, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the private pilot and his pilot-rated passenger were not injured. The flight originated from Eureka at 1200 as a local flight.
During a telephone interview, the pilot reported that during the landing roll on runway 36, the aircraft encountered a gust of wind. The pilot was unable to maintain directional control, and the aircraft traveled to the side of the runway where the horizontal stabilizer collided with a taxiway sign. The taxiway sign was knocked over and the horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage.
The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft at the time.
The pilot reported the winds to be from 080 degrees at 10 knots with gusts to 15 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1387Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 72687
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Glen L. Hanley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 88M · Eureka, MT
- Destination
- 88M
- Airport
- 88M · Eureka Airport, runway 36
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 207 total · 177 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 11 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.