Benton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Benton, Kansas 67017
Friday, March 31, 2006 13:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had just departed when the cowling came open and he elected to return to the airport. The pilot stated that during the landing roll he lost control of the airplane, ground looped and departed the runway to the left, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. A post-accident examination of the airframe and airplane's systems revealed no anomalies. The pilot stated that he did not properly latch the cowling.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane resulting in a ground loop. Contributing factors include the inadequate preflight inspection, the pilot's failure to properly latch the cowling, and the pilot's diverted attention to the open cowling.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/31/2006
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Benton
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67017
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 374621N
Event Location Longitude 0974838W
Event Location Airport BENTON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1K1
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1367
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1354 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID AAO
Elevation of weather observation facility 1420
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 16
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 19968
NTSB Notification Source FAA Central Region
NTSB Notification Date Mar 31 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 31 2006 10:47AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Wichita FAA Flight Standards District Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2359J
NTSB Number DEN06CA054
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 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20511
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Dec 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1670
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Sharpening Specialists LC
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Boc 13322
Aircraft Owner City Wichita
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 67213
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 1355
Departure City Benton
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 71K
Destination City WICHITA
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 12 2006 1:29PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 1613
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --