Wausau Downtown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wausau, Wisconsin 54403
Tuesady, August 14, 2012 11:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After an uneventful 30-minute flight, the pilot set up the tail wheel equipped airplane for a full stop traffic pattern approach and landing. The pilot stated that he touched down normally on the dry asphalt runway heading 050 degrees. Nearing the end of roll out, a "huge" unexpected gust of wind (about 20-25 knots out of the west) lifted the left wing off the ground and pushed the tail to the right, causing the nose of airplane to face to the left. The pilot attempted to correct, but did not have enough rudder authority. The airplane then skidded to the left and went slightly off the left side of the runway. The right wing dug into dirt, resulting in structural damage to the outboard section of right wing. The pilot stated that he had checked the ATIS information just prior to landing, and the reported wind was 050 degrees at 10 knots with no gusts. Also, he stated that wind "T" indicated that the wind was from about 050 degrees. The pilot noted that he was very surprised when he encountered the crosswind gust on roll out. Shortly after the accident, the pilot demonstrated proficiency in crosswind landings during an FAA check flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's loss of control during landing roll out, resulting in a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was an unexpected crosswind wind gust.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Wausau
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54403
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445534N
Event Location Longitude 0893737W
Event Location Airport Wausau Downtown Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AUW
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 1201
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KAUW 141654Z AUTO VRB05KT 10SM BKN065 23/09 A2995
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) 31568
NTSB Notification Source FAA 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 Jun 26 2013 6:04PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N52187
NTSB Number CEN12CA590
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 180J
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18052545
Certified Max Gross Weight 2850
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 4
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 Jul 14 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 2281
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MONK ROBERT WILLIAM
Aircraft Owner Street Address 100 E CRABTREE CIR
Aircraft Owner City WAUSAU
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 54401
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name MONK ROBERT WILLIAM
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 100 E CRABTREE CIR
Operator City WAUSAU
Operator State WI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 54401
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 No
Departure Airport Code WI36
Departure City Lake Tomahawk
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AUW
Destination City Wausau
Destination State WI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2013 9:15PM
User who most recently changed record lema
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 04
Runway Length 3041
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --