- Date
- July 28, 2006, 12:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lowman, ID
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5421XCessna TU206G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060728025429A
- Case key
- 64293
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 loss of aircraft control due to a downdraft on short final followed by an uncontrolled descent to a hard landing.
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 was landing on a mountain dirt airstrip which did not have a wind sock on the approach end of the runway. The approach end of the runway terminated in a lake, and the runway proceeded uphill with a 6 percent grade. The pilot said that there was always a "sinker" where the runway meets the water. As the airplane went from over water to over the end of the runway, the pilot said the airplane was "really slammed down", and even with full takeoff power the airplane hit the ground hard. He said the airplane bounced about 20 yards to the right where the right wheel went into a ditch about 2 feet deep. He applied full left aileron, full left rudder, and full left brake. The wheel came out of the ditch, but the empennage "whacked" the ditch berm fairly hard. A Form 337 (major repair) was issued and the following parts were replaced: two skin pieces; two stringers; two frame bulkheads; one access door; and one tailcone assembly doubler.
Factual narrative
On July 28, 2006, at approximately 1230 mountain daylight time, a Cessna TU206G, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Deadwood Reservoir Airstrip (ID86), near Lowman, Idaho. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was being operated under contract to the USDA Forest Service by Pioneer Aviation, Inc., Boise, Idaho, as a public use flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that had originated from Boise, Idaho, at approximately 0900. U.S. Forest Service personnel stated that the purpose of the flight was for an aerial survey for forest pest detection.
The pilot said that the wind sock at the top of the hill, at the east end of the runway, was not moving, and there was no wind sock at the approach end of the runway. He said the approach was made over the lake and "there is always a sinker" where the runway meets the water. This approach is to runway 06, which has an uphill 6 percent grade. As the airplane went from over water to over the end of the runway, the pilot said the airplane was "really slammed down," and even with full takeoff power the airplane hit the ground hard. The pilot said the airplane bounced about 20 yards to the right where the right wheel went into a ditch about 2 feet deep. He applied full left aileron, full left rudder, and full left brake. The wheel came out of the ditch, but the empennage "whacked" the ditch berm fairly hard.
Postaccident examination of photographs and parts replacement list by a Federal Aviation Inspector resulted in a Form 337 (major repair) being requested for the required repair. This form documented the replacement of the following parts: two skin pieces; two stringers; two frame bulkheads; one access door; and one tailcone assembly doubler.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5421X
- Reported as
- Cessna TU206G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U20605737
- Airframe hours
- 7,511
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-M, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Public use
- Registered owner
- Pioneer Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 2006 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- BOI · Boise, ID
- Destination
- ID86 · Lowman, ID
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- ID86 · Deadwood Dam Airstrip, runway 06, 1,800 × 50 ft, grass/turf
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,200 total · 2,800 in this make and model · 4,100 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 7 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- SNT, 32 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.