Cessna 182 N5609B

Summary

On 28 December 2003 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N5609B was involved in an accident near Hudson, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 December 2003 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hudson, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Platte Valley Airpark (18V)

Coordinates

40.0997, -104.7011

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N5609B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elbert → Hudson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN04LA034

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control due to an excessive crosswind component, resulting in an uncontrolled groundloop/swerve. Contributing factors were the crosswind gust and the soft, sandy terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he was landing on runway 33 into a left 30-degree crosswind (later he said it was a 70-degree crosswind). "An apparent gust" of approximately 40 mph "caused the airplane to ground loop to the left side of the runway. The airplane departed the runway, "it appears the right wheel dug into the sandy ground," and the airplane nosed over. According to the Wind Component Chart, under the conditions described by the pilot, a 30-degree, 40 mph crosswind would produce a crosswind component of 20 mph. A 70-degree, 40 mph crosswind would produce a crosswind component of 38 mph. According to a spokesperson for the airplane manufacturer, the maximum crosswind component for the airplane is 15 mph.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.