CHI96LA143

Factual narrative

On April 25, 1996, at 1245 central daylight time, a Cessna 172, N18HZ, operated by Martin Aviation, sustained substantial damage while taxiing from landing when a gust of wind nosed the airplane over on its back. The commercial pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR 91 flight had landed on runway 23 and had turned right onto runway 31 at Hulman Regional Airport, Terre Haute, Indiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. Local winds at the time of the accident were reported as being from 210 degrees at 30 knots, gusting to 40 knots. The pilot reported that while taxiing on runway 31, he turned the yoke 45 degrees to the right and forward since the winds were 100 degrees off the nose to the left. He reported that after taxiing about 50 yards, the airplane started to roll forward and the tail lifted straight up. The pilot reported that the tail continued to go straight up and the propeller struck the pavement. Within seconds the airplane had nosed over on its back. The pilot shut off the fuel mixture and evacuated the airplane. The Cessna taxiing diagram indicates that the proper procedure for taxiing with a left quartering tailwind is down aileron on the left wing and down elevator. Neither the Cessna Pilot's Operating Handbook nor the Federal Aviation Administration's Flight Training Handbook discuss the technique of turning the yoke 45 degrees. In both publications the aileron is either up or down. (See attachments) The pilot reported that while taxiing on runway 31, he turned the yoke 45 degrees to the right and forward since the winds were from 100 degrees off the nose to the left. After taxiing about 50 yards, the airplane started to roll forward and the tail began to lift. The tail continued to rise and the propeller struck the pavement. Within seconds, the airplane nosed over on its back. A Cessna taxiing diagram indicated that the proper procedure for taxiing with a left quartering tailwind was with down aileron on the left wing and down elevator. Neither the Pilot's Operating Handbook nor the Federal Aviation Administration's Flight Training Handbook discussed the technique of turning the yoke only 45 degrees. Both publications indicated that the respective aileron should be moved either up or down. The wind was reported to be from 210 degrees at 30, gusting 40 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12