CHI02LA130

Factual narrative

On May 9, 2002, at 1610 central daylight time, a Cessna 180, N9135C, nosed over on soft terrain following a loss of directional control on landing. The landing was being made on runway 35 (2,935 feet by 30 feet, dry asphalt) at the Hyannis Grant County Airport, Hyannis, Nebraska. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The tailwheel airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from McCook, Nebraska, at 1500. According to the pilot's written statement, the wind appeared to be out of the northwest upon approaching the Grant County Airport. The pilot stated that the crosswind landing on runway 35 was smooth, but the left wing came up when the aircraft was approximately 500 feet down the runway on the landing roll. The pilot stated that he stepped on the brakes, catching the right wheel on the runway. According to the pilot, the aircraft veered to the right and he attempted to straighten the airplane using left rudder and brake. The pilot reported that the airplane continued off the runway, contacted muddy terrain, and nosed over on the soft terrain. According to the pilot, he reported that he "honestly couldn't say whether or not his foot was on the brake of if the brake locked up." He then reported that there was nothing wrong with the airplane and that it was "pilot error." At 1553, the wind at the Alliance Municipal Airport (46 miles west of the accident site) was reported to be from 270 degrees at 6 knots gusting to 14 knots. The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over on soft terrain following a loss of directional control on landing. The pilot reported that the touchdown was smooth, but that the airplane began to veer to the right on the landing roll. He stated that he attempted to straighten the airplane using left rudder and brake to no avail. The airplane continued off the runway where it contacted terrain which contained several inches of standing water. The pilot reported that he could not recall whether his foot was on the brake or if the brake locked up. He reported that there were no problems with the aircraft and that the accident resulted from "pilot error". Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12