- Date
- May 31, 2026, 20:55 local (Jun 1, 2026, 03:55 UTC)
- Place
- Pasco, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4179NCessna 140
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report August 27, 2026
- 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
- 20260531005499A
- Case key
- 203109
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 inadvertent excessive braking during the landing roll, which resulted in a nose over.
Findings · 3
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 of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that during the normal landing, the airplane bounced and returned to the runway surface. When the landing gear contacted the runway surface, the airplane nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the rudder, vertical stabilizer, and left wing lift strut. The pilot was uncertain about his application of the brakes during the landing, however, the passenger reported that the airplane skidded after the main landing gear contacted the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane identified wear marks on the main landing gear tires consistent with braking during the landing roll and revealed that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the main landing gear wheels rotated freely when the airplane was towed from the runway. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently applied excessive braking input during the landing roll.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4179N
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 13650
- Built
- 1947
- Airframe hours
- 3,704.5
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 9, 2025 · 14 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PSC · Tri-cities Airport, runway 21R, 7,707 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 19, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 163 total · 38 in this make and model · 47 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- KPSC
- METAR
- METAR KPSC 010353Z 16008KT 10SM CLR 23/03 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP186 T02280028 $
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 27, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 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.