Accident Overview
On February 27, 2012, at approximately 1052 mountain standard time, a Cessna R172E (registration N3196F) nosed over during taxi to runway 17 for takeoff at Front Range Airport (FTG), near Denver, Colorado. The pilot, a private pilot, sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing and vertical stabilizer. The aircraft was registered to the United States Air Force (USAF) and operated by the USAF Peterson Aero Club under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan had been filed for the intended flight to City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
Pilot Information
The pilot reported a total flight time of 1,400 hours, of which 100 hours were in single-engine airplanes and 50 hours were in the accident make and model.
Weather Conditions
According to the pilot, after landing at Front Range Airport from an uneventful flight from Colorado Springs, he noticed the wind began to gust. He shut down the engine and tied down the aircraft. At about 1035, he checked the winds and observed they were from a southerly direction, with runway 17 in use. The pilot stated that the FTG Automatic Terminal Information Service reported winds as 160 degrees at 27 knots gusting 38 knots. During taxi on taxiway A (an east taxiway) to runway 17, the airplane's tail lifted upward, and the airplane nosed over. Recorded winds at FTG at 1043 were 170 degrees at 30 knots gusting 43 knots.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Cessna R172E, registration N3196F. The Cessna R172E manual states: “The maximum allowable crosswind velocity is dependent upon pilot capability rather than airplane limitations. However, with average pilot technique, direct crosswinds of 15 knots can be handled safely.”
Operational Procedures
According to the Rocky Mountain USAF Flight Training Center Standard Operating Procedure, Section V. Wind Operating Limits, the maximum crosswind for pilots with less than 200 hours of flight time is 10 knots, and for those with more than 200 hours, the maximum crosswind was the flight manual demonstrated crosswind component. The pilot had 1,400 total flight hours, exceeding the 200-hour threshold.