Cessna 170 N1997C

Summary

On 11 January 2018 at about 16:00 local time, a Cessna 170 registered N1997C was involved in an accident near Auburn, New York, 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

11 January 2018 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Auburn, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Murphy Field (06NY)

Coordinates

42.8428, -76.4453

Aircraft

Cessna 170

Registration

N1997C

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

Skaneateles → Auburn

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA100

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper wind correction inputs while taxiing with a quartering tailwind.

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, during taxi after landing, he initially applied forward and right yoke inputs because of the tailwind but transitioned to back and left yoke inputs because the runway was soft and wet. He added that the airplane encountered a left quartering tailwind gust and spun into an adjacent soy bean field. The pilot exited the airplane to examine the damage, at which point another wind gust flipped the airplane inverted. The pilot reported that, after he exited the airplane, he observed windshield damage before the second wind gust occurred. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the windshield. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the wind was from the southwest between 8 and 15 knots. The airplane was taxiing north. The Federal Aviation Administration's Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3B, contained a section titled "Taxiing," which stated the following:         When taxiing with a quartering tailwind, the elevator should be held in the DOWN position, and the upwind aileron, DOWN. Since the wind is striking the airplane from behind, these control positions reduce the tendency of the wind to get under the tail and the wing and to nose the airplane over. The application of these crosswind taxi corrections helps to minimize the weathervaning tendency and ultimately results in making the airplane easier to steer.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.