Event ANC13CA106

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that, as he was returning to the airport from a local flight, he noticed the wind had increased to 25 knots, gusting to 32 knots, and was almost a direct crosswind with the landing runway. He decided to land the airplane on the ramp, directly into the wind. As soon as the landing gear touched down, he noticed he was drifting toward a building, and was unable to correct for the drift. The left wing collided with the corner of the building, sustaining substantial damage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that, as he was returning to the airport from a local flight, he noticed the wind had increased to 25 knots, gusting to 32 knots, and was almost a direct crosswind with the landing runway. He decided to land the airplane on the ramp, directly into the wind. As soon as the landing gear touched down, he noticed he was drifting toward a building, and was unable to correct for the drift. The left wing collided with the corner of the building, sustaining substantial damage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-High wind-Contributed to outcome