Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Glenwood Spring, Colorado 81601
Tuesady, March 18, 2008 14:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that as he approached his destination, AWOS reported the winds to be calm. Everything was "normal" as he crossed runway 32 threshold. The airplane touched down and the pilot felt a strong left quartering tailwind gust. The airplane lifted off and drifted to the right towards a snow bank, hangar, and fuel pump. The airplane touched down again and the pilot decided to commit to a landing, applying maximum brakes. The tail rose up and the propeller struck the ground. Post-accident examination disclosed the firewall was buckled. The nearest weather reporting facility reported the wind from 300 degrees at 11 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing. Contributing to the accident was the strong left quartering tailwind and gust.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/18/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Glenwood Spring
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81601
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393035N
Event Location Longitude 1071855W
Event Location Airport Glenwood Springs Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GWS
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 5916
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 260
Weather Observation Facility ID RIL
Elevation of weather observation facility 5544
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
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) 23996
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date Mar 18 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2008 3:01PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City, Utah

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N67WW
NTSB Number DEN08LA070
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 180H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 118051812
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3600
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Max E. Wheeler
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Los Angeles
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90024
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 SGU
Departure City St. George
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code GWS
Destination City Glenwood Spring
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 21 2008 10:13AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 3305
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --