Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary FTW95LA377

WESTCLIFFE, CO, USA

Aircraft #1

N4253Z

PIPER PA-18-150

Analysis

DURING LANDING ROLL, FOLLOWING A GLIDER TOW FLIGHT, GUSTING CROSS WINDS WERE ENCOUNTERED. THE AIRCRAFT EXITED THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, WENT DOWN A 20 TO 25 DEGREE SLOPE, AND NOSED OVER.

Factual Information

On September 2, 1995, at 1330 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA- 18-150, N4253Z, departed the side of the runway and nosed over during landing roll at Westcliffe, Colorado. The private (commercial glider) pilot was not injured and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a glider tow flight when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The tow portion of the flight was complete and the pilot was conducting a final landing. According to the pilot, during landing roll, the wind was gusting between 10 and 20 knots from the west and the aircraft deviated to the west and went off the side of the runway. The pilot said there was a slope of 20 to 25 degrees off that side of the runway and the aircraft went down the slope and nosed over. The nearest weather observation facility was approximately 30 miles away, over a range of 14,000 mountains. Thus the recorded weather is not necessarily indicative of the weather at the accident site.

Probable Cause and Findings

FAILURE BY THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. A FACTOR WAS GUSTING CROSS WINDS.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

Get all the details on your iPhone or iPad with:

Aviation Accidents App

In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports