Lewistown Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lewistown, Montana 59445
Friday, July 12, 1996 16:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he made an approach to land on the runway with a moderate crosswind. He stated that at about 3 feet above the runway, the wind died or reversed. The airplane bounced; during the bounce, the wind started to turn the airplane. The pilot was unable to control the directional change, and the airplane ground-looped, sustaining substantial damage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate compensation for the changing wind conditions, and his failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve. The sudden windshift was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/12/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City LEWISTOWN
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59445
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LEWISTOWN MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LWT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4167
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 958
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 15 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:13AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3156A
NTSB Number SEA96LA153
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier 170B
Aircraft Serial Number 25800
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 27 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 61
Airframe Hours 3611
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name EDWARD H. COLE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6060 4 MILE CANYON DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City BOULDER
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80302
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CTB
Departure City CUT BANK
Departure State MT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LWT
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 5600
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --