Cessna 170B accident near San Jose, California, September 10, 1998
On September 10, 1998 at about 2:01 am local time, a Cessna 170B, registered N8245A, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Jose, California (San Jose International 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's inadequate compensation for the existing crosswind condition and failure to maintain directional control
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 10, 1998 · about 2:01 am local time
- Place
- San Jose, California · San Jose International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170B · all 170Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8245A · registry record · serial 25097
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had been in the landing pattern with an instructor for approximately an hour. After his passenger arrived and took the instructor's place, he went out to practice a few more landings. He took off and made a normal 3-point landing. He retracted flaps, added full power, pushed forward on the yoke, and brought the tail up. Initially the airplane tracked straight down the runway, then began to drift and required him to apply left aileron and right rudder. As he adjusted to slightly realign the aircraft with the runway, it veered sharply and went into a grassy area off the runway and nosed 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 157 hours in all; 16 in this make and model; 84 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1998; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SJC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30R, 4,419 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,700 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:04 am from SJC
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.
Other NTSB records under N8245A 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.