Glendale Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Glendale, Arizona 85301
Sunday, April 22, 2001 14:26 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During landing the airplane collided with a runway marker sign. The pilot stated that he lost directional control due to a sudden gust of wind. The closest weather reporting station was at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport about 17 statute miles east of Glendale airport, and reported the wind to be 120 at 4 knots with no gusts.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's loss of directional control during the landing roll resulting in a ground loop/swerve and collision with a runway marker sign.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/22/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1426
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Glendale
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85301
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 333138N
Event Location Longitude 1121743W
Event Location Airport Glendale Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GEU
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1356 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PHX
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 120
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
Density Altitude (feet) 1674
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12350
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 22 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 3:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N66033
NTSB Number LAX01LA155
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 180K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18052906
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
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 8 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 84
Airframe Hours 1240
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bruce A. Nelson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Fullerton
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92833
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 AJO
Departure City Corona
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code GEU
Destination City Glendale
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 17 2002 2:48PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length 5350
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --