Cessna 180J accident near Council, Idaho, August 10, 1999
On August 10, 1999 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna 180J, registered N7739K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Council, Idaho (Oxbow Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 recovery from a bounced landing. Gusting wind conditions and a dirt bank adjacent to the runway edge were factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 1999 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Council, Idaho · Oxbow Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180J · all 180Js on the register
- Registration
- N7739K · no longer on the register · serial 18052714
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that the approach for landing was normal until touchdown, when the airplane bounced and became airborne. Prior to the second touchdown, a gust of wind hit the airplane, which weathervaned the airplane to the right. As the airplane touched down a second time, it traveled to the right. The pilot tried to correct with full left braking action, but the corrective action was unsuccessful and the airplane continued off the side of the runway, colliding with a dirt embankment. The wind conditions varied from calm to gusting conditions of varying intensity. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane at the time of the accident.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,532 hours in all; 2,259 in this make and model; 216 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 3,259 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,764 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 23, 1999; 38 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-S1B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Baker Aircraft INC.
The flight
- Departed from: OR12
- Runway 17, 2,900 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
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.