Cessna 180 N6430X

Summary

On 14 May 2004 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N6430X was involved in an accident near Kingman, Arizona, 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

14 May 2004 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Kingman, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

35.5833, -114.0500

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N6430X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kingman → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04CA209

Nobody was injured.

the pilot under instruction's excessive and improper use of the rudder control during the landing roll and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop and nose over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a practice landing to a dry lakebed, the pilot under instruction overcompensated during a realignment maneuver, resulting in a loss of control of the tail wheel airplane and a ground loop. The pilot was receiving flight instruction for a tail wheel endorsement. According to the certified flight instructor's (CFI's) written statement, he and the pilot had practiced numerous takeoffs and landings at the departure airport before they headed to a dry lakebed for additional takeoff and landings. During the final landing, as the tail was lowering from the wheel landing position, the "student applied right rudder" to clear a stick that was on the ground. Though, according to the CFI, the aircraft's original rollout path would have cleared the stick, the CFI felt comfortable with the maneuver since it provided extra clearance. The pilot then corrected with the left rudder, but "overcompensated." The CFI announced that he had the controls, but the pilot did not remove his hands from the control yoke or his feet from the rudder pedals. As the airplane slowed, it underwent two left-to-right oscillations. On the second right oscillation, the right wing lifted and the airplane went up onto its left main tire. The CFI said that he applied left aileron and left rudder; however, the airplane continued to the right and he was unable to regain control of the airplane before it ground looped and nosed over. The CFI applied left brake, the left wing impacted the ground, and the airplane nosed over onto its back.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.