Before the landing at the airport in Loveland, Colorado, the pilot told the flight instructor that he “wasn’t real comfortable” with the landing, as he had never landed on that particular runway before, which he classified as shorter and narrower.
The flight instructor said the landing would be “okay,” and the pilot completed the before landing checklist with the Cessna 185’s tailwheel unlocked and full flaps applied for the three-point landing.
After touchdown, the plane bounced and, immediately after the second touchdown, it ground looped and departed the runway to the left. The right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing and the empennage hit the ground. The airplane came to rest upright on a grass field next to the runway and the three occupants were able to get out of the airplane without further incident.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, the right wing, and the empennage.
The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. He added the ground loop occurred “very fast,” and the cause of the accident was “human error.”
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing, that resulted in a ground loop and a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
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This August 2024 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I understand his concerns, yet the instructor pushed him on. Had the same issue with my instructor when I had just purchased my first aircraft. 1946 Aeronca Chief, with cable shoe brakes. He wanted me to land on asphalt. I didn’t feel comfortable about it but he kept pushing. He tried to force me to do a wheel landing rather than a 3 point or stall landing. I set up with what I was comfortable with and just as we touched down he pushed the yoke forward and started to apply brakes and around we went. Barely missed the marker lights and wound up in the grass with no damage. I told him to get the He— out of my plane and I fired him right in the spot. Checked out my plane then flew back myself to the strip I kept our plane. The next day he came over to talk to me and said sorry about that. Took my logbook and wrote my solo endorsement in it.🤣🤣🤣
My C180 is not equipped with a locking tailwheel– however, it is my understanding that locking t/w procdure is to lock it after you line up on the runway for takeoff, and don’t unlock it until you are ready to turn off the runway after landing. Maybe a locked tailwheel would have prevented this mishap?
The 180/185 and 190/195 are the hardest tailwheel planes to fly. Make sure your instructor has a lot of time in type. Just because you have time in a Cub doesn’t mean you’re going to step into these planes without an incident. Dry runway and watch the crosswind book limits.
Furthermore every one of these planes is under insured for these kinds of accidents.
This all being said, these are the most fun to fly and most versatile planes made.