DILLINGHAM, AK, USA
N3179B
Cessna 170B
The pilot-in-command held a private pilot certificate and was seated in the right seat. He did not hold a flight instructor certificate. The airplane's co-owner was a student pilot and was seated in the left seat. During the second touch-and-go landing, with the pilot-in-command allowing the student pilot to manipulate the flight controls, the airplane bounced and ground looped to the right. The left wing contacted the ground, and the airplane nosed down.
On March 21, 1998, at 1718 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 170B tailwheel equipped airplane, N3179B, sustained substantial damage while landing at the Dillingham Airport, Dillingham, Alaska. The airplane was co-owned and operated by the two occupants, both of Dillingham. The private certificated pilot, and student pilot at the controls, were uninjured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight to conduct touch and go landings. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Dillingham at 1700. The student pilot at the controls stated during an interview with the NTSB investigator that there was a five to seven knot crosswind from the right. He had his first solo one week prior to the accident. He had accrued 25 hours of total flight time, with 15 hours in this airplane. He was manipulating the flight controls from the left seat, with the private pilot observing from the right seat. The private pilot did not hold a flight instructor certificate. On the second touch-and-go landing, the airplane bounced and ground looped to the right. The left wingtip dragged the ground, and the airplane nosed down.
The pilot-in-command's decision to relinquish controls to the student pilot in the left seat during practice landings, and the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control. A factor contributing to this accident was the pilot-in-command's lack of certification as a flight instructor.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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