Cessna 185 N5011X

Summary

On 22 October 2010 at about 20:50 local time, a Cessna 185 registered N5011X was involved in an accident near Fort Thomas, Arizona, United States. 3 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

22 October 2010 at 20:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Thomas, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Regeneration (5AZ9)

Coordinates

33.0328, -109.9875

Aircraft

Cessna 185

Registration

N5011X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Thomas → Fort Thomas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11CA024

Nobody was injured.

The airplane's encounter with a dust devil during landing rollout, which resulted in the pilot not being able to maintain directional control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that after flying for about 10 minutes he made a normal traffic pattern approach and touched down on the runway. The initial rollout was without incident; however, seconds after lowering the tailwheel onto the runway surface, the airplane encountered a sudden gust of wind from the right, which was akin to a dust devil, or strong whirlwind. At this point in time, the pilot had minimal rudder authority. Despite his efforts to maintain directional control, the airplane's left wingtip contacted the runway and the airplane rolled off the runway and into a berm. During the accident sequence the outboard portion of the left wing was bent and the right wing strut was bent. The pilot indicated that he had no warning of the presence of the dust devil swirl of air. No weather reporting services are available at the airport from which the pilot took off and landed. The pilot reported that the windsock had indicated that the wind speed was between 5 and 7 knots. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.