Boulder Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boulder, Colorado 80026
Sunday, August 16, 1998 16:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the pilot approached the airport for a full stop landing, he heard the pilot of another airplane, which was landing on runway 8 report that he had a tail wind during his landing sequence. The pilot 'noticed the wind sock on the east end of the runway was standing straight out in a direction that appeared to be 180 degrees.' The pilot landed on runway 26, but reported having difficulty keeping the airplane aligned with the centerline. He said 'I didn't feel at the time I stood any chance of gaining airspeed to execute a climb.' He performed a ground loop rather then go in the lake on the west end of the runway. One witness reported that immediately after the accident they noticed that the wind was coming from the northeast. The winds at the nearest reporting station, 9 nautical miles southeast, were 180 degrees and 13 knots at 1549 and at 1655, the winds were 150 degrees and 11 knots gusting to 20 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's intentional ground loop and his inadequate compensation for the wind condition. A contributng factor was crosswinds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/16/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City BOULDER
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80026
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport BOULDER MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1V5
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 5288
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1655 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID BJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5670
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 7807
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1327
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 17 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1127
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:42AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2574V
NTSB Number FTW98LA360
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 170
Aircraft Series Identifier 170
Aircraft Serial Number 18111
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 Aug 6 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 126
Airframe Hours 5688
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ERIC D. TWOMBLY
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 811
Aircraft Owner City HALFWAY
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97834
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 OGA
Departure City OGALLALA
Departure State NE
Departure Country
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 1V5
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 26
Runway Length 4100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --