Cessna 170B, N8335A, Frontier Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning: Accident occurred September 10, 2016 at Sidney–Richland Municipal Airport (KSDY), Montana

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office: Helena, Montana

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board:https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf 

Frontier Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning: http://registry.faa.gov/N8335A 

NTSB Identification: GAA16CA492
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, September 10, 2016 in Sidney, MT
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/04/2017
Aircraft: CESSNA 170, registration: N8335A
Injuries: 3 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The flight instructor reported that, during the instructional flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, the student pilot bounced the landing. The airplane bounced off the grass airstrip, and the flight instructor took the flight controls, but the airplane drifted to the left and into a drainage ditch. The flight instructor reported that he corrected with right rudder application to ease the airplane out of the ditch, but the left landing gear tire deflated, and the left wing and the tail struck the ground. The airplane yawed to the left, the instructor corrected the yaw, and the airplane rolled onto the runway and stopped. The left wing, left aileron, and the elevator sustained substantial damage.

The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and the flight instructor’s inability to recover the airplane, which resulted in a runway excursion.