SEA96LA118

Factual narrative

On June 8, 1996, at approximately 1808 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 180, N2411C, sustained substantial damage in a gear collapse and subsequent nose-down after it departed the side of the runway while landing at Kalispell City Airport, Kalispell, Montana. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The aircraft was being operated under 14 CFR 91 on a local flight from Kalispell City Airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. There was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, he had just returned to the airport after a flight in the local area and was trying to land in winds that were constantly changing direction. After touching down, the pilot found that he had to make strong rudder corrections to compensate for the changing winds. He was ultimately unable to maintain direction control of the tailwheel equipped aircraft, and exited the right side of the runway onto soft, wet terrain. Upon contacting the soft terrain, the left main gear collapsed and the aircraft nosed down into the dirt. While landing in constantly changing winds, the pilot was unable to maintain direction control of the tailwheel equipped aircraft. After the aircraft exited the right side of the runway, the left main gear collapsed after coming in contact with soft, wet terrain. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12