NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA125
Registry · N5067E
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 180B
Year of manufacture
1958 · 57 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19581121
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6538C
Registrant of record
RICKENBACH RODD L TRUSTEE
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The incorrect installation of the secondary seat stop reel which resulted in the pilot's loss of control when the seat moved full aft during takeoff.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the seat slid to its full aft position. He was unable to reach the control pedals and attempted to abort the takeoff. The pilot was not able to control the airplane and it yawed left into a ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer, right wing, and right aileron. A postaccident examination by the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge and Textron Aviation revealed the secondary seat stop reel was not installed according to the manufacturer's guidelines. The incorrect installation prevented the primary seat adjustment mechanism from fully engaging into the holes in the seat rail. The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the seat slid to its full aft position. He was unable to reach the control pedals and attempted to abort the takeoff. The pilot was not able to control the airplane and it yawed left into a ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer, right wing, and right aileron. A postaccident examination by the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge and Textron Aviation revealed the secondary seat stop reel was not installed according to the manufacturer's guidelines. The incorrect installation prevented the primary seat adjustment mechanism from fully engaging into the holes in the seat rail. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Equipment/furnishings-Flight compartment equipment-Incorrect service/maintenance - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Maintenance-Installation-Maintenance personnel - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_GAA15CA125.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Semantic Scholar 2016 · Article (Interacción)
Trajectory Recovery System: Angle of Attack Guidance for Inflight Loss of Control
This paper describes the design and development of an ecological display to aid pilots in the recovery of an In-Flight Loss of Control event due to a Stall (ILOC-S).
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2010 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Approach — Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air 3407 / Continental Connection (Q400) Buffalo NY, February 12, 2009 — 50 fatalities. Definitive investigation of the Colgan 3407 stall-stick-pusher crash on approach to Buffalo.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Quadratic Programming Approach to Flight Envelope Protection Using Control Barrier Functions
Ensuring the safe operation of aerospace systems within their prescribed flight envelope is a fundamental requirement for modern flight control systems.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗