- Date
- September 26, 2008, 08:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Bluff, UT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N4646ACessna 180
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 10, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080926845929A
- Case key
- 69010
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 encounter with the rough, uneven, and eroded condition of the airstrip.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he landed on the unimproved dirt airstrip and came to a full stop. He began taxiing and started to turn around when he encountered a washed out area. The pilot stated that after proceeding about another 30 feet the left main landing gear collapsed through an eroded section of the dirt airstrip, which was not visible to him. The pilot reported that the landing gear fell about 2 feet followed by the airplane going up on its nose and the propeller striking the ground; the airplane subsequently fell back on its tailwheel. The pilot reported substantial damage to the airplane as a result of the left main landing gear strut being bent and damage to the left gear attachment structure.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he landed on the unimproved dirt airstrip and came to a full stop. He began taxiing and started to turn around when he encountered a washed out area. The pilot stated that after proceeding about another 30 feet the left main landing gear collapsed through an eroded section of the dirt airstrip, which was not visible to him. The pilot reported that the landing gear fell about 2 feet followed by the airplane going up on its nose and the propeller striking the ground; the airplane subsequently fell back on its tailwheel. The pilot reported substantial damage to the airplane as a result of the left main landing gear strut being bent and damage to the left gear attachment structure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4646A
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32243
- Engine
- Continental O-470, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Scott Coatsworth
- Registered owner
- Scott Coatsworth
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 66V · Bluff, UT
- Destination
- Bluff, UT
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- None · Dirt Airstrip, runway 18, dirt
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,695 total · 1,140 in this make and model · 49 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4646A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.