Cessna 170 N1421D

Summary

On 13 February 2017 at about 21:50 local time, a Cessna 170 registered N1421D was involved in an accident near Wheatland, Wyoming, 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

13 February 2017 at 21:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Wheatland, Wyoming, United States

Nearest airport

Phiefer Airfield (KEAN)

Coordinates

42.0558, -104.9247

Aircraft

Cessna 170

Registration

N1421D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1951

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Guernsey → Wheatland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA141

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s incorrect compensation for the gusting crosswind during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control and runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor in the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during the landing roll, as soon as the tailwheel touched the runway, the airplane veered to the right. He added that he attempted to recover by applying full left rudder, left brake, and right aileron, but the left wing impacted the ground as the airplane exited the runway to the right. Subsequently, the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut, both wings, and empennage. The flight instructor reported that skid marks on the runway indicated that the tailwheel was not rolling freely. He added that, during a postaccident inspection, the left brake pedal went to the lower limit on an initial depression, but later held brake pressure during a second depression. He reported that he would not have been able to recover the airplane back to centerline because of the initial brake pressure response. Further, the flight instructor reported that, about 10 minutes before the accident, the wind was 310° at 13 knots, gusting to 19 knots. In a followup e-mail, the flight instructor reported that there were no brake or tailwheel anomalies noted during the run-up or departure. He also reported that the student pilot did not make any noticeable control inputs during the landing sequence. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that, during a postaccident examination of the airplane 2 days after the accident, he "saw nothing abnormal with the brakes," and he added that the tailwheel was turning. The airplane landed on runway 26. An online commercial weather service provider reported that a nearby station, about 2 minutes before the accident, reported wind 010° at 21 mph, gusting to 24 mph. The passenger in the rear seat provided a video showing the landing roll from the rear seat looking forward. Both the right and left control yokes can be seen, but the rudder pedals cannot be seen. During the beginning of the sequence, the instructor, in the right seat, had his right hand on the control yoke, and the student, in the left seat, had his left hand on the control yoke. Right aileron was applied. During the landing roll, the student added his right hand to the control yoke, and as the airplane veered to the right, left aileron was applied. The camera panned to the left as the right wing lifted and the left wing impacted the ground. The airplane veered left, then nosed over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.