Cessna 180H N3424Y

Summary

On 11 March 2012 at about 17:45 local time, a Cessna 180H registered N3424Y was involved in an accident near Belle Chase, Louisiana, 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

11 March 2012 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Belle Chase, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Southern Seaplane Airport (65LA)

Coordinates

29.8661, -90.0222

Aircraft

Cessna 180H

Registration

N3424Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pascagoula → Belle Chase

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA185

Nobody was injured.

The bent tailwheel spring that allowed the tailwheel to caster when the airplane encountered a wind gust on landing roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On downwind, the pilot noticed that the wind had increased and that there was light turbulence. He planned to land beyond some trees to avoid turbulence. The airplane encountered a wind gust during the landing roll. The pilot applied rudder and aileron corrections along with heavy braking. The airplane exited the runway and impacted a pipe rack resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a tailwheel spring was bent, and its spring rate was weak, which allowed the tailwheel's fork to caster freely by not engaging into its machined locking detent.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.