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GAA16CA478

2016-09-05 · Clemson, South Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CEU

Current FAA registration · N451SW

Make / Model
CESSNA 180C
Year of manufacture
1960 · 56 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19980418
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A57778

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of directional control during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane, prior to the takeoff roll he applied one notch of flaps and added power. He reported that just before rotation the airplane veered to the left and he could not keep the airplane on the runway. He reported that he aborted the takeoff, applied the brakes and the airplane exited the runway to the left and impacted a drainage culvert. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar and ribs. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with any portion of the airplane during the preflight that would have prevented the normal flight operations. The meteorological aerodrome report at the accident airport reported that the wind was out of 100 degrees true at 04 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot departed runway 25. According to the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane, prior to the takeoff roll he applied one notch of flaps and added power. He reported that just before rotation the airplane veered to the left and he could not keep the airplane on the runway. He reported that he aborted the takeoff, applied the brakes and the airplane exited the runway to the left and impacted a drainage culvert. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar and ribs. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with any portion of the airplane during the preflight that would have prevented the normal flight operations. The meteorological aerodrome report at the accident airport reported that the wind was out of 100 degrees true at 04 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot departed runway 25. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Awareness of condition

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA478.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers