- Date
- February 27, 1996, 08:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hillsboro, OR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N9669BCessna 180A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960227002779A
- Case key
- 42341
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 failure of the pilot to identify the unsuitable taxi area, and the failure of airport maintenance personnel to properly identify a construction area.
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 reported that after landing he taxied toward the fuel island. Just prior to the island, the left main landing gear rolled into an open manhole and the left wing contacted the surface. Maintenance personnel had removed the manhole cover earlier in the morning and failed to set up warning cones around the area.
Factual narrative
On February 27, 1996, at 0830 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 180A, N9669B, registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 CFR 91 personal flight, collided with an open manhole while taxiing to the fuel island at the Hillsboro Airport, Hillsboro, Oregon. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from Independence, Oregon, about one half hour before the accident.
The pilot reported that after landing he was taxiing to the fuel island when the left main landing gear rolled into an open manhole near the fuel island. The left wing contacted the surface, substantially damaging the wing and aileron.
Earlier in the morning, a work crew had removed the manhole cover, but did not place the orange warning cones around the area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9669B
- Reported as
- Cessna 180A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32966
- Airframe hours
- 4,032
- Engine
- Continental O-470, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles M. Milton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 10, 1995 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- 7S5 · Independence, OR
- Airport
- HIO · Portland-Hillsboro
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,830 total · 100 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HIO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.