Cessna C195A accident near Gila Bend, Arizona, March 11, 2004
On March 11, 2004 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Cessna C195A, registered N9869A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gila Bend, Arizona (Gila Bend Municipal Airport). It was an instructional 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's failure to maintain directional control, resulting in a ground loop. Factors in the accident were the pilot's unfamiliarity with the airplane and the delayed remedial action of the flight instructor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 11, 2004 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Gila Bend, Arizona · Gila Bend Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C195A
- Registration
- N9869A · no longer on the register · serial 7571
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane ground looped while attempting to land. The purpose of the flight was for the certified flight instructor (CFI) to give the private pilot a check out. The pilot completed about four full stall landings, all of which he kept drifting to the left during the landing roll. On the next landing attempt, the pilot touched down, and drifted to the left. The CFI instructed him to input left rudder, but the pilot was unable to steer due to the tail wheel locking. The airplane began a long turn to the right and ground looped in the same direction. The pilot had bought the airplane the day before the accident and had accumulated a total of 3.6 hours of flight time in the same make and model. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,369 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 57 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: April 26, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot (unmanned)
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jacobs L6MB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: E25 Wickenburg AZ
- Destination: E63 Gila Bend AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 04
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.