Cessna 180H accident near Mccall, Idaho, September 8, 2004
On September 8, 2004, a Cessna 180H, registered N3458Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mccall, Idaho (Wilson Bar Usfs Arpt airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to attain proper touchdown point for landing on the backcountry airstrip. Contributing factors were downdraft weather conditions and the pilot's excessive speed for landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 8, 2004
- Place
- Mccall, Idaho · Wilson Bar Usfs Arpt · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180H · all 180Hs on the register
- Registration
- N3458Y · registry record · serial 18051958
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While flying base leg into Wilson Bar Airstrip, the pilot said he encountered "several moderate downdrafts." He said that he flew the final approach with 65 to 70 miles per hour (mph), but encountered a severe downdraft on short final (there was an approximate 35 foot bank from the river to the end of the runway). He applied full power, "was able to keep the aircraft from being driven into the river," but now had "excessive" airspeed. He landed long (the runway was 1,500 feet in length), and overran the end of the runway and nosed over. The engine's mount, firewall, and cowling were bent, the vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent, and the right wing and right horizontal stabilizer were bent and wrinkled. In the AirNav.com additional remarks for Wilson Bar USFS Airstrip it states: "Strip downdrafts prevalent on approach to runway 24."
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: 1,098 hours in all; 827 in this make and model; 155 in the last 90 days; 44 in the last 30 days; 1,003 as pilot in command; 13,723 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 8, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,640 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 11, 2004; 173 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,190 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-50 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MYL Mccall ID at 11:00 pm
- Destination: ID76 Mccall ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 1,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.