Cessna A185F N4742E

Summary

On 16 May 2023 at about 20:50 local time, a Cessna A185F registered N4742E was involved in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado, 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

16 May 2023 at 20:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Grand Junction, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Grand Junction Regional Airpor (GJT)

Coordinates

39.1274, -108.5308

Aircraft

Cessna A185F

Registration

N4742E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Scottsdale → Grand Junction

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA189

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll with gusting wind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while performing a 3-point landing, a wind gust from the right caused the airplane to “balloon” and bounce during the initial touchdown. During the attempted bounce recovery, the tundra tires firmly grabbed the grooved runway resulting in a ground loop. During the ground loop, the left wing struck the ground which resulted in substantial damage to the wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident malfunctions or failures with the airplane which would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 29 with wind from 330° at 7 knots gusting to 17 knots. The pilot stated that he was unfamiliar flying this airplane with large tundra tires.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.