Cessna 180 N3224D

Summary

On 19 July 2018 at about 17:15 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N3224D was involved in an accident near Bozeman, Montana, United States. One person was 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

19 July 2018 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Bozeman, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Bozeman Yellowstone Intl (BZN)

Coordinates

45.7772, -111.1503

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N3224D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1954

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bozeman → Bozeman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA437

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, after a wheel landing, the tailwheel touched down, and it then started shaking violently. In an attempt to stop the shaking, he pushed forward on the control yoke to no avail. He then tried adding power, raised the tail, and let the tailwheel touch down again; however, the tailwheel continued to shake, and the airplane began to veer left, and he corrected by applying right rudder. Shortly after the airplane regained the runway heading, it suddenly veered right, exited the runway to the right, and ground looped. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that, during landing, the wind was from 010º at 4 knots. The airport's automated weather observation station reported that, about the 15 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 160° at 4 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 03.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.