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ATL02LA080

2002-04-08 · Ocala, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OCF

Current FAA registration · N3470C

Make / Model
CESSNA 170B
Year of manufacture
1954 · 48 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR C145 SERIES (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19551111
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3D9AA

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control on landing roll, resulting in a loss of control/ground loop.

Factual narrative

On April 8, 2002 at 0800 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N3470C registered to a private pilot, collided with the ground adjacent to runway 36 while attempting a landing at Ocala Regional Airport in Ocala, Florida. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida at 0725 and was enroute to Ocala Regional Airport in Ocala, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the air transport pilot and his passenger were not injured. The pilot stated that the approach profile to land was normal and the airplane touched down on the centerline of runway 36, approximately 2000 down the runway. Immediately upon touchdown, the airplane departed the runway surface to the right and ground looped. The pilot attempted to correct directional control problem by adding full left rudder and full right aileron, but the pilot was unable to stop the ground loop. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or system failure with the airplane. The reported winds at the time of the accident were light and variable; the 6,096 foot long runway surface condition was dry. The pilot stated that the approach to land was normal and the airplane touched down on the centerline of runway 36, approximately 2000 down the runway. Immediately upon touchdown, the airplane departed the runway surface to the right and ground looped. The pilot attempted to correct directional control problem by adding full left rudder and full right aileron, but the pilot was unable to stop the ground loop. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or system failure with the airplane. The reported winds at the time of the accident were light and variable; the 6,096 foot long runway surface condition was dry. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2002_ATL02LA080.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). All research papers