Provo Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Provo, Utah 84601
Sunday, May 24, 1998 14:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that as he approached his destination, he was unable to contact either the airport or other air traffic to obtain wind information to find out which runway was in use. Flying over the airport, he saw that the wind sock indicated the winds were calm, so he landed on runway 13. He said the airplane 'felt soft on the left side' and began 'weaving' down the runway. The left wheel broke off the landing gear, and the airplane ground looped. A witness told the pilot he thought he 'may have experienced a right quartering tail wind gust.' An FAA inspector, who examined the airplane, said the failure appeared to be overload.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane. A related factor was the right quartering tailwind gust.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/24/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City PROVO
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84601
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PROVO MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVU
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 4491
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1500 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 145
Weather Observation Facility ID SLC
Elevation of weather observation facility 4603
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 36
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 5880
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 164
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 24 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1910
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9732A
NTSB Number FTW98LA237
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 170A
Aircraft Series Identifier 170A
Aircraft Serial Number 19193
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Feb 2 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 4796
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RALPH A. CLARK
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 2080
Aircraft Owner City PINE
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85544
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 U55
Departure City PANGUITCH
Departure State UT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PVU
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 7091
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --