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CEN11LA579

2011-08-16 · Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KSWO

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's on-ground loss of control during the landing roll upon encountering a sudden wind shift and gust.

Factual narrative

On August 16, 2011, approximately 1845 central daylight time, a Cessna 180, N3316D, nosed over on landing at Stillwater Regional Airport (KSWO), Stillwater, Oklahoma. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The airplane was being operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from KSWO approximately 1730. According to the pilot, he had made 2 full stall and 3 wheel landings. The control tower cleared him for the option to runway 17. He configured the airplane for a wheel landing. The airplane touched down and during the rollout, with the tail still in the air, the airplane started to weathervane with the wind and swerved hard to the right. The left wing struck the runway and the airplane nosed over. A postaccident examination revealed no anomalies. According to the airport's weather reporting station, the wind had been from 180 degrees at 3 knots, then it shifted to 330 degrees at 14 knots, with gusts to 25 knots. During landing, the airplane touched down on the main wheels, and, while the tail was still in the air, the airplane started to weathervane and swerved hard to the right. The left wing struck the runway, and the airplane nosed over. A postaccident examination revealed no anomalies. According to the airport's weather reporting station, at the time of the landing, the wind shifted from 180 degrees at 3 knots to 330 degrees at 14 knots with gusts to 25 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Sudden wind shift-Contributed to outcome
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_CEN11LA579.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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