Cessna 170 accident near Pell City, Alabama, August 7, 1998
On August 7, 1998 at about 5:50 pm local time, a Cessna 170, registered N9968A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pell City, Alabama (Pell City Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper use of the flight controls during a crosswind landing and the improper recovery from a bounce resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear. A factor was the right crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 1998 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- Pell City, Alabama · Pell City Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170 · all 170s on the register
- Registration
- N9968A · registry record · serial 19328
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot reported that he was completing his third supervised solo flight that consisted of several landings. On the last landing, the airplane touched down about 1000 feet from the approach end of the runway. The student pilot reported that after he made a three point touch down, the airplane bounced, and weather vaned into the crosswind. As the airplane touched down again the right main landing gear collapsed. According to an eyewitness, the airplane was still in the proper crab position when the right main gear failed. The eyewitness also stated that after the right main landing gear collapsed, the right wing hit the runway and 'ground looped the aircraft'. At the time of the accident, no mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the student pilot. Examination of the right landing gear box assembly failed to disclose structural deformation other than overload.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 56 hours in all; 41 in this make and model; 26 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,329 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 1998; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-145-2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from ANB, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL98LA106.