Cessna 180 accident near Tower, Minnesota, February 20, 2000
On February 20, 2000 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Cessna 180, registered N6545A, was involved in an accident near Tower, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed; 3 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the passenger not maintaining clearance from the rotating propeller.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 2000 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Tower, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed; 3 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N6545A · registry record · serial 32442
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A passenger deplaned, walked into the airplane's rotating propeller, and sustained fatal injuries. The pilot and two other passengers were uninjured. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Lake Vermilion, Minnesota at 1415, landed on Lake Vermilion, and was standing at the time of the accident. The pilot said his daughter's friends were approaching the airplane using their snowmobiles. He stated she was '...excited to meet with her friends.' The pilot stated, 'When the aircraft stopped I pulled out the fuel mixture as I was shutting down other equipment in the aircraft my daughter ... slipped out of the rear seat of the aircraft, when I saw her outside I screamed her name as she turned to look at me her body shifted foward and she was struck in the head once as the prop made its final revolution.'
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 579 hours in all; 234 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,658 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 20, 1999; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Lake Vermilion MN at 8:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:57 pm from CQM, 29 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N6545A the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.