- Date
- September 21, 2023, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Monument Valley, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N63130Cessna 180K
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20230921015019A
- Case key
- 193142
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 maintain directional control after encountering a wind gust on the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he made an uneventful flight to the destination airport and configured the tailwheel-equipped airplane for landing. During the approach he noted that there was no unusual gust or crosswind, and he touched down on the main wheels just after the runway’s identification numbers. On the landing roll, the pilot reduced the power to idle, and the tailwheel settled on the runway. The airplane encountered a sudden wind gust, raising the right wing. Despite the pilot’s attempts to maintain directional control, the airplane ground-looped to the right and departed the runway surface. The airplane continued into a ditch and the left gear collapsed, resulting in the left wing contacting the ground. The pilot reported that there were no pre impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N63130
- Reported as
- Cessna 180K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18052831
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 6,247
- Engine
- Continental O-470-U, 230 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 6, 2023 · 123 hours before
- Departed
- PGA · Page, AZ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- UT25 · Monument Valley AIrport, runway 16, 3,800 × 45 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 19, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,543 total · 688 in this make and model · 4,468 as pilot in command · 297 in the last 90 days · 59 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 9 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
- Observed at
- KPGA, 60 nm away
- METAR
- KPGA 212053Z AUTO 21009G19KT 170V250 10SM CLR 29/M04 A2985 RMK AO2 PK WND 21027/2022 SLP043 T02891039 58028
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 7, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N63130 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.