11 Jan 2018: CESSNA 170 B

11 Jan 2018: CESSNA 170 B — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Auburn, NY, United States

Probable cause

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

— NTSB Determination

Accident 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, when another gust of wind flipped the airplane inverted.

The pilot reported that, after he exited the airplane, he observed windshield damage prior to the second wind gust. 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 at 8 to 15 knots. The airplane was taxiing north.

Federal Aviation Administration's Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3B, contains a section titled "Taxiing" which states:

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.

Contributing factors

  • cause Crosswind correction — Not attained/maintained
  • cause Effect on operation
  • Effect on operation
  • Effect on operation

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 160/11kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.