No fatalities

22 Oct 2010: CESSNA 185 — Fort Thomas, AZ

Fort Thomas, AZ, United States

On 22 Oct 2010, a CESSNA 185 was involved in an aviation accident near Fort Thomas, AZ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The airplane's encounter with a dust devil during landing rollout, which resulted in the pilot not being able to maintain directional control. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During landing rollout, a sudden gust of wind from the right, described as a dust devil swirl, caused the pilot to lose directional control. The airplane veered off the runway, striking a berm, resulting in wing damage.

Accident Description

According to the pilot, the flight lasted approximately 10 minutes before he initiated a normal traffic pattern approach. The landing touchdown was uneventful, and the initial rollout proceeded without incident. Shortly after the tail wheel was lowered, the airplane encountered an abrupt gust of wind from the right. The pilot characterized this gust as a dust devil swirl of air. At that moment, rudder effectiveness was significantly reduced. Despite the pilot's attempts to keep the airplane aligned with the runway, the left wing tip contacted the ground. This caused the airplane to depart the runway surface and strike a berm. Additionally, the right wing tip impacted the terrain.

Damage

The impact resulted in a bent outboard section of the left wing and a deformed right wing strut.

Pilot's Account

The pilot stated that he had no advance warning of the dust devil swirl and did not provide a speed estimate for the gust in his report. The airport used for departure and landing lacks any official weather reporting services. However, the pilot noted that the windsock indicated wind speeds between 5 and 7 knots prior to the incident. No mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported with the airplane.

Contributing factors

Effect on operationAttain/maintain not possible