- Date
- August 8, 1999, 19:45 local (Aug 9, 1999, 01:45 UTC)
- Place
- Sidney, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9085RCessna 188B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990808011259A
- Case key
- 47024
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 wind conditions.
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
Shortly after departure, the pilot encountered rain showers and thunderstorms and elected to return to the airport. After touchdown, during the landing roll, the aircraft encountered a gust of wind and became uncontrollable. The pilot was unable to maintain directional control and unintentionally ground-looped the aircraft. The weather at the time of the accident, as reported by the pilot, was winds from 280 degrees at 14 knots with gusts to 25 knots and rain showers. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On August 8, 1999, about 1945 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 188B, N9085R, registered to and operated by Sidney Air Service, Incorporated as a 14CFR137 aerial applicator was substantially damaged while landing at Sidney-Richland Airport, Sidney, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local agricultural flight. The commercial pilot was not injured and there was no report of fire or ELT activation.
During a telephone interview and subsequent written statement, the pilot reported that shortly after departure from Sidney Airport, he encountered rain showers and thunderstorms and elected to return to the airport. After touchdown, during the landing roll on runway 01, the aircraft encountered a gust of wind. The pilot stated he was unable to maintain directional control and unintentionally ground-looped the aircraft. The aircraft came to rest approximately 30 feet west of runway 01. The aircraft's landing gear, wings, empennage and fuselage were substantially damaged.
The weather at the time of the accident, as reported by the pilot, was winds from 280 degrees at 14 knots with gusts to 25 knots and rain showers. The pilot also reported that rain showers and thunderstorms were forecasted for the area at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9085R
- Reported as
- Cessna 188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18802106T
- Airframe hours
- 5,026
- Engine
- Continental IO-520 D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Sidney Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 23, 1999 · 287 hours before
- Departed
- SDY
- Airport
- SDY · Sidney-Richmond County, runway 1, 5,705 × 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
- 59
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,669 total · 1,222 in this make and model · 3,500 as pilot in command · 344 in the last 90 days · 132 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 14 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 90 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.