Cessna 182B accident near Watkins, Colorado, July 7, 1999
On July 7, 1999 at about 10:50 pm local time, a Cessna 182B, registered N7289E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Watkins, Colorado (Front Range Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during landing roll. A related factor was the gusty quartering tailwind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 7, 1999 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Watkins, Colorado · Front Range Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182B · all 182Bs on the register
- Registration
- N7289E · registry record · serial 52289
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was making a crosswind landing on runway 26 'for practice.' During rollout, the aircraft skidded off the left side of the runway east for 30 feet, then nosed over. The aircraft sustained damage to the vertical stabilizer, right wing, and propeller. Winds recorded at the nearest official weather reporting facility, located 7.2 nm to the northwest, were from 150 degrees at 18 knots, with gusts to 24 knots. According to the Cessna Aircraft Corporation, neither the Cessna 182 nor the 180 (the converted tail wheel conversion) 1959 models of the Airplane Flight Manuals have demonstrated crosswind component charts, nor was it required for FAA certification.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,600 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 21,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,278 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 21, 1998; 65 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VTN Valentine NE at 9:00 pm
- Destination: FTG
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 8,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 18 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from DEN, 7 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.
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 DEN99LA116.