What happened
On April 9, 2011, a Cessna 180H was being operated in Palmer, Alaska, for the purpose of practicing stop-and-go landings and takeoffs. During the final landing of the session, the tail of the aircraft bounced to the right. The pilot was unable to provide a sufficient corrective response to stop the aircraft from entering a ground loop. As a result, the right wing of N2709X dragged along the runway, causing substantial structural damage to the wing. There were no injuries resulting from the incident.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanics of the landing roll and the pilot's control inputs. It was determined that the aircraft, which is tailwheel-equipped, experienced a rightward bounce of the tail during the landing phase, leading to the loss of directional stability.