St Charles Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St Charles, Missouri 63301
Saturday, March 8, 2003 11:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged during a ground loop while landing. According to the pilot he had checked the weather 20 minutes before the accident and had estimated the crosswind at 9 knots. The pilot stated that during the landing roll the airplane passed a row of hangars. He reported that as the airplane passed the last hangar the left wing started to "float." The pilot attempted to apply corrective actions but was unable to do so. The airplane subsequently ground looped.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind and his failure to maintain directional control resulting in a ground loop. A factor was the crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/8/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City St Charles
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 63301
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 385055N
Event Location Longitude 0903000W
Event Location Airport St Charles Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3SQ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 442
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 132
Weather Observation Facility ID KSTL
Elevation of weather observation facility 604
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.79
Density Altitude (feet) 551
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KSTL 080053Z 08004KT 10SM CLR 12/01 A3000 RM
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) 14540
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 13 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2003 8:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office St. Louis, Missouri

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2732K
NTSB Number CHI03LA081
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 18053046
Certified Max Gross Weight 2810
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 22 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 9849
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Danny and Lisa Clark Family Foundation
Aircraft Owner Street Address 157 Clement Ln.
Aircraft Owner City Wentzville
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 63385
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 PVT
Departure City Riddle
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1045
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 3SQ
Destination City St Charles
Destination State MO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 31 2003 8:59AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 3451
Runway Width 49
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --