Cessna 180H accident near Hailey, Idaho, July 30, 2006
On July 30, 2006 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Cessna 180H, registered N89SJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hailey, Idaho (Friedman Memorial airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during taxi, which resulted in a nose over. A factor was the wind gust condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 30, 2006 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hailey, Idaho · Friedman Memorial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180H · all 180Hs on the register
- Registration
- N89SJ · registry record · serial 1805123
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that while taxiing on the runway after landing he relaxed back pressure on the elevator and subsequently encountered a crosswind gust which picked up the left wing. The pilot stated that the airplane then veered to the left, which lifted the left wing even further, resulting in the right wing striking the ground. The airplane then nosed over and came to rest on the left side of the runway, inverted, and oriented on a southwest heading. According to the local weather reporting system, a special observation at 1214 indicated wind 210 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 16 knots.
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: 952 hours in all; 80 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: U87 Smiley Creek ID
- Destination: SUN Hailey ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N89SJ the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 SEA06CA151.