# NTSB WPR23LA024: Cessna 170A, N291JR, Evanston, WY, October 18, 2022

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: October 18, 2022, 11:05 local (17:05 UTC)
- Place: Evanston, WY · KEVW
- Coordinates: 41.274778, -111.03463
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.2748&lon=-111.0346&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: FAA
- NTSB case key (mKey): 106187
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR23LA024
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/106187/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23LA024

## Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during takeoff, resulting in a runway excursion and ground loop

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Action: incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause)
- [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause)

## Analysis

The purpose of the flight was to ferry the tailwheel-equipped airplane for its new owner. The pilot initially told investigators that during the takeoff roll from a 2,300 ft asphalt runway, the skies were clear, and the wind was calm. He stated that he rotated at the 500 ft mark at an airspeed of 65 knots, and the airplane lifted off and climbed to about 50 ft agl. Shortly after, the airplane descended back onto the runway. He added that he did not hear an audible stall horn warning and that after the airplane touched down, the airplane veered off the runway. The airplane ground looped, resulting in substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut, right-wing aileron and the fuselage. The pilot’s initial statement was that the left brake failed (seized) as he saw left tire skid marks on the runway. However, he later told a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that his original statement was incorrect, and the airplane never left the ground and there must have been a brake seizure or dragging of the right brake that he overcompensated for with left rudder, resulting in the runway departure. The pilot did not respond to attempts by the NTSB investigator-in-charge to clarify the differences in his statements. Postaccident examination of the left main landing gear brake and both main gear wheel bearings revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Takeoff: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900)
- [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event)

## Aircraft

- Registration: N291JR (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 170A
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 19837
- Year built: 1951
- Airframe hours: 3339
- Engines: Continental O-300-A 145 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Business, Part 91
- Operator: William R. Bensyl
- Registered owner: William R. Bensyl
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, June 25, 2022
- Destination: D60, Tioga, ND
- Airport: EVW, Evanston-Uinta County Burns Fld, runway 05, 7,300 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: Unknown

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: front

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Temperature: 32 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter: 30.44 inHg
- Observed at: KEVW
- METAR: METAR KEVW 181553Z AUTO A3044 RMK AO2 SLPNO PWINO $=

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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