- Date
- July 30, 1997, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Spanish Fork, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N929AECessna 180B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970730020189A
- Case key
- 42667
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 inadequate compensation for the crosswind. A factor was the crosswind.
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 takeoff with a 17 knot crosswind, the aircraft became airborne too early and then drifted to the right of the runway. During the attempted recovery, the right wing hit the ground and the aircraft ground looped.
Factual narrative
On July 30, 1997, at 1500 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 180B, N929AE, crashed during takeoff from Spanish Fork, Utah. The airplane was being operated under visual flight rules as a personal flight. The airplane was substantially damaged but the pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The airplane had departed Corona, California earlier that day and had stopped at Spanish Fork for refueling. The intended destination for the accident flight was Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
The pilot stated that he had a 17 knot crosswind from the left during the takeoff. The aircraft became airborne too early and then drifted to the right of the runway. The airplane then struck the ground and ground looped.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N929AE
- Reported as
- Cessna 180B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 50457
- Airframe hours
- 4,785
- Engine
- Continental O-470-K, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Strother, William J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 1997 · 46 hours before
- Departed
- U77
- Destination
- BFF · Scottsbluff, NE
- Airport
- U77 · Spanish Fork-Springville, runway 30, 5,700 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 577 total · 110 in this make and model · 460 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 17 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.