Sky Harbor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Duluth, Minnesota 55802
Sunday, May 16, 2010 15:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was landing to the southeast on a 3,050 feet long by 75 feet wide asphalt runway. The winds reported at the time of the accident were from 070 degrees at 3 knots. The pilot said the airplane made a sudden turn to the left approximately 200 to 300 feet down the runway, after a normal touchdown. He applied right rudder and right brake but the airplane drifted off of the left side of the runway and the left wing tip impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest at a 45 degree angle to the runway. The pilot said he had very little recent flight experience. He felt this accident could have been prevented if he had flown with a flight instructor after having been away from flying for such a long period of time. There was substantial damage to the left wing tip and to the spar of the left wing. The pilot reported he was not injured.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/16/2010
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Duluth
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55802
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 464311N
Event Location Longitude 0920222W
Event Location Airport Sky Harbor Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DYT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 610
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1454 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID DYT
Elevation of weather observation facility 610
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
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) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KDYT 161954Z AUTO 07003KT 10SM CLR 12/08 A30
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) 27082
NTSB Notification Source FAA Recional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 20 2010 2:52PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6545A
NTSB Number CEN10CA260
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 180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32442
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 May 6 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 4826
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name Gustafson Dale W
Aircraft Owner Street Address Rt 1 Box 278
Aircraft Owner City Cook
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55723
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Gustafson Dale W
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address Rt 1 Box 278
Operator City Cook
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 55723
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code DYT
Departure City Duluth
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code DYT
Destination City Duluth
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 18 2010 5:08PM
User who most recently changed record latt
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 3050
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --