SEA98LA167

Factual narrative

On August 15, 1998, approximately 1100 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 180, N9115C, ground-looped during the landing roll at Bowman Field, Anaconda, Montana. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned by the pilot's son, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR personal proficiency flight, which was being conducted in the traffic pattern at Bowman Field, had been operating in visual meteorological conditions for about 30 minutes prior to the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, he had completed a number of successful stop-and-go landings prior to the landing during which the accident occurred. While attempting the last landing, during which there was a 6 to 10 knot tailwind, the aircraft started drifting toward the right edge of the runway. The pilot was unable to correct the ground track before the aircraft departed the runway, ground-looped and impacted the terrain. While attempting to land with a tailwind, the pilot experienced an inadvertent loss of directional control. Due to the pilot's inadequate remedial action, the aircraft departed the right side of the runway and subsequently ground-looped. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12