# NTSB WPR23LA229: Cessna 305C (0-1E), N62TX, Big Bear City, CA, June 17, 2023

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report
- Date: June 17, 2023, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place: Big Bear City, CA · airplane came to rest off the approach end of runway 8.
- Coordinates: 34.263778, -116.85602
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2638&lon=-116.8560&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 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 192403
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR23LA229
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/192403/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192403
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23LA229

## Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff.

## Findings

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

- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 305C (0-1E), 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2074014), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md)
- [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 305C (0-1E), 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=2074014), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

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

- [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 305C (0-1E), 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2074014), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during takeoff, the airplane yawed left, exited the runway, and ground looped. During the ground loop, the airplane’s right wing impacted terrain, resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the tailwheel head bracket was broken in two places. Metallurgical examination of the fractured tailwheel head bracket revealed that the bracket flanges had separated due to overstress, likely because of the pilot’s loss of airplane control during takeoff and subsequent ground loop. The wind at the airport about the time of the accident was reported to be calm.

## Factual narrative

On June 17, 2023, at 1430 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 305C, N62TX, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Big Bear Airport (L35), Big Bear, California. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during takeoff from Big Bear Airport (L35), Big Bear, California, the airplane veered left, exited the runway, and ground looped. During the ground loop, the airplane’s right wing impacted the terrain, resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the tailwheel head bracket flanges had fracture separated. The bracket was removed and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory, Washington, DC, for examination. Examination of the fracture faces revealed the presence of dimpled ruptures, consistent with overstress fractures in cast aluminum. The wind at the airport about the time of the accident was reported to be calm.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N62TX](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N62TX), registered now, S/N 305M0051, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 305C (0-1E)
- Registry model: [Cessna 305C (0-1E)](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-305c-0-1e) (registry code 2074014) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 305M0051
- Year built: 1963
- Airframe hours: 675
- Engines: Continental O-470-15 213 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, March 1, 2023, 75 hours before
- Destination: SNA, Santa Ana, CA
- Airport: L35, Big Bear City Airport, runway 8, 5,850 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display, Stall warning system, Onboard weather

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 75; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: basicmed, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 15, 2023; seat: front; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 4,000 total, 182 in this make and model, 3,934 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 12 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 6,000 ft overcast
- Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter: 30.25 inHg
- Observed at: KL35
- METAR: KL35 172115Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM OVC060 21/06 A3025 RMK AO2

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20230617012989A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230617012989A), Jun 17, 2023: Cessna 305C (0-1E), Big Bear, CA, Substantial damage. On June 17,2023 at approximately 1425 PDT time, Cessna [privacy data omitted]an L19 birddog ground looped on landing runway 08 at Big Bear Airport in CA. There…

## Docket (3 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 19, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192403. 19.8 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 2.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18247360&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120%20Flattened_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Investigative photographs (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 3 photos, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18246665&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigative%20Photographs-Rel.pdf
- Materials laboratory factual report (item 3, PDF, 16 pages, 18 photos, 16.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16809364&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=24-009%20-%20Materials%20Lab%20Factual%20Report%20(WPR23LA229)-Rel.pdf

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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