Cessna 180 N3242D

Summary

On 30 January 2012 at about 17:29 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N3242D was involved in an accident near Cascade, Idaho, 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

30 January 2012 at 17:29

Classification

Accident

Location

Cascade, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Cascade (U70)

Coordinates

44.4922, -116.0147

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N3242D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ontario → Cascade

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12CA086

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for a wind gust during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was a windsock partially sheltered by trees that provided inaccurate wind information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot and a witness, the landing approach was normal, and the airplane touched down in a three-point attitude close to the runway threshold and on the runway centerline. The airplane encountered a wind gust, became airborne again, drifted to the right, and touched down off the runway in an area covered with about 18 inches of snow. The pilot added power to recover, but the airplane’s main wheels sank into the snow, and the airplane nosed over onto its back, sustaining substantial damage to the horizontal and vertical stabilizers and to one wing. The pilot noted that no mechanical malfunction or failure contributed to the accident. The pilot stated that, if he had been aware of any wind gusts prior to landing, he would have conducted a wheel landing instead of a three-point landing. Witnesses familiar with the airport reported that trees partially sheltered the windsock from wind out of the south/southwest, which was the wind direction at the time of the accident, and, therefore, wind from this direction was not always accurately indicated by the windsock.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.