NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR11CA418
Registry · N2868A
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 180
Year of manufacture
1953 · 58 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19660412
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A2E7B6
Registrant of record
TAYLOR ERIC C
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s failure to maintain lateral aircraft control while taking off with a gusting crosswind.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he flew to a nearby airport to practice touch-and-go landings. After his first touchdown, he applied power for takeoff and as his airplane lifted off, he encountered a strong wind gust from his left side. He applied left aileron, but his right wing tip contacted the ground. The airplane cartwheeled and came to rest upright. The airplane immediately burst into flames and was consumed by the fire. The closest weather station, located 19 nautical miles from the airport, reported the wind at 280 degrees for 12 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was from the northwest at 15 knots, gusting to 20 knots. The pilot stated that he flew to a nearby airport to practice touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. After his first touchdown, he applied power for takeoff and, as his airplane lifted off, he encountered a strong wind gust from his left side. He applied left aileron, but his right wing tip contacted the ground. The airplane cartwheeled and came to rest upright. The airplane immediately burst into flames and was consumed by the fire. The closest weather station, located 19 nautical miles from the airport, reported the wind at 280 degrees at 12 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was from the northwest at 15 knots, gusting to 20 knots. 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 oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2011_WPR11CA418.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. Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Transonic Experimental Observations of Abrupt Wing Stall on an F/A-18E Model (Invited)
A transonic wind tunnel test of an 8% F/A-18E model was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 16 ft Transonic Tunnel (16-ft TT) to investigate on-surface flow physics during stall.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2022 · Faculty research project
PLD Space Suborbital Microgravity Research
This project involves the design, development, integration, testing, validation, and verification of various payloads to be flown aboard PLD Space’s MIURA-1 suborbital rocket.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Can Backward-Chained, Ab-Initio Pilot Training Decrease Time to First Solo?
Flight simulation has made progressively significant inroads into pilot training at all levels of a pilot’s career – typically starting with training for the Instrument rating in light aircraft and co…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2020 · Conference paper
Backwards Chaining – Accelerating Solo Flight Training
Flight simulation has made progressively significant inroads into pilot training at all levels of a pilot’s career – typically starting with training for the Instrument rating in light aircraft and co…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Transonic Experimental Observations of Abrupt Wing Stall on an F/A-l8E Model
A transonic wind tunnel test of an 8% F/A-18E model was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 16 ft Transonic Tunnel (16-ft TT) to investigate on-surface flow physics during stall.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2018 · Conference paper
Implementing Immersive Virtual Reality in an Aviation/Aerospace Teaching and Learning Paradigm
The ubiquity of computing technology has revolutionized the workplace and has also had a significant impact on education. The use of interactive simulations based on virtual reality (VR), augmented re…
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