Event SEA03LA181

Factual narrative

On August 29, 2003, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, a tailwheel equipped Cessna 180, N1027X, registered to an individual, operated by an airline transport rated pilot/flight instructor and being flown by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage during a loss of control on landing at the Caldwell Industrial airport, Caldwell, Idaho. Neither occupant was injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was instructional, was operated under 14 CFR91, and originated from Caldwell approximately 0730 on the morning of the accident. The flight instructor reported that at the conclusion of the fourth landing, as the student was rolling out on runway 30 and decelerating through approximately 25-30 miles per hour, "...a lurch or turn brought the nose of the aircraft right and the tail to the left...." The instructor was lightly riding the controls during the rollout and both pilots initiated a correction for the turn with the student applying "...a corrective action of left rudder and brake..." while the instructor simultaneously assured "...full up elevator...." The instructor indicated that the control inputs were insufficient to overcome the turning momentum of the aircraft, and the aircraft came to rest oriented in the opposite direction with the left wheel off the runway edge. During the reversal the wingtip and horizontal stabilizer struck the ground. The instructor reported the winds as variable at 3-5 knots and the surface observation at the Caldwell airport at 0835 reported the surface winds as 5 knots from the north. The instructor reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft during the event and the student had about 12 hours of total flight experience. The flight instructor reported that as the 12 hour student pilot was rolling out on the runway in the tailwheel equipped aircraft, the aircraft's nose deviated to the right. The student applied corrective rudder and brake while the instructor assured full up elevator had been applied. However, the actions were not sufficient to prevent the aircraft from ground looping 180 degrees during which the left wingtip and horizontal stabilizer struck the ground. The winds were variable to northerly at 3-5 knots and the instructor reported that there had been no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft during the event. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12