Bad landing bends 180

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped Cessna 180 planned to land at a mountain airport situated in a valley near McCall, Idaho.

He overflew the airport and observed the windsock, which indicated the wind was out the north and then entered the left downwind for Runway 19, which has an uphill slope.

While on downwind, the airport became obscured by terrain, and then became visible again at the end of the base leg.

When he turned final, he saw that he was high, reduced engine power to idle and increased the flap setting to 40°. The airplane touched down at a higher than normal airspeed and bounced once.

The pilot applied the brakes and the airplane nosed over.

He estimated there was 150 yards of runway remaining from where the airplane came to rest. The usable runway is 3,550 feet long.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, right wing strut, rudder, vertical stabilizer.

The Airport Facilities Directory (AFD) recommends landing to the south and taking off to the north when wind allows. The pilot estimated he landed with a 10 to 15 knot tailwind.

He stated that he should have gone around, but believed he could stop on the remaining runway due to the uphill slope.

He also noted that he should have flown a stabilized approach and immediately gone around when he saw he was too high on final to safely land.

Probable cause: The pilot’s excessive application of brake pressure during the landing roll, which resulted in a nose over. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to continue the landing after noting he was high on final approach.

NTSB Identification: GAA15CA275

This September 2015 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.