Jefferson County Intl. Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Port Townsend, Washington 98368
Friday, March 10, 2000 16:45 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot, who was flying a tailwheel-equipped aircraft, thought he was landing into a quartering headwind. But according to pilot-rated witnesses, the wind shifted just prior to the aircraft crossing the threshold. After the aircraft touched down, the tailwind lifted its tail into the air, and the pilot began having difficulty maintaining directional control. During his attempts to remain aligned with the runway, the aircraft departed the side runway surface, and encountered soft, wet terrain. Soon after encountering the soft terrain, one of the main gear legs separated from the aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for changing wind conditions during the landing roll in a tailwheel-equipped aircraft. Factors include a variable, shifting wind that changed from a quartering headwind to a quartering tailwind just prior to the aircraft touching down on the runway, and soft, wet terrain just off the edge of the runway surface.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/10/2000
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1645
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City PORT TOWNSEND
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98368
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport JEFFERSON COUNTY INTL.
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 059
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 107
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 2500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
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) 206
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 10 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1755
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 10:16AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4994A
NTSB Number SEA00LA049
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 180
Aircraft Series Identifier 180
Aircraft Serial Number 32391
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 Feb 24 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours 6544
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HILL, GARY G & KREMER, DALE E
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3825 46TH AVE NE
Aircraft Owner City SEATTLE
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98105
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 PAE
Departure City EVERETT
Departure State WA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1615
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 059
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 12:27PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --