Cessna 182F accident near Estherville, Iowa, February 11, 2003
On February 11, 2003 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Cessna 182F, registered N3455U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Estherville, Iowa (Estherville Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot failed to maintain adequate control of the airplane while taxiing in high wind conditions. A factor was the high winds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 11, 2003 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Estherville, Iowa · Estherville Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182F · all 182Fs on the register
- Registration
- N3455U · registry record · serial 18254855
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over while taxiing during high wind conditions. The winds recorded about 22 miles northeast of the airport were 330 degrees at 40 knots. The pilot reported he landed safely and began taxiing slowly toward a hangar while applying "full wind correction" of the flight controls. He taxied onto the grass so that he could taxi to the hangar with a quartering headwind. He reported there was snow on the grass and the "wind was making us skid a little," and about "100 feet from the runway we slowly went up on our nose causing a prop strike," and "then we went over."
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,313 hours in all; 583 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 1,255 as pilot in command; 28 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 19, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,371 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 11, 2002; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: D02 Osage IA at 8:00 pm
- Destination: EST Estherville IA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 40 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 1°F (-17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.81 inHg
- Observation at 9:15 pm from FRM, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.