CEN11CA197

Factual narrative

According to an FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot via telephone, the pilot said he inadvertently landed on runway 35 with a tailwind. Realizing his mistake and unable to stop the airplane on the runway remaining, he attempted to take off. However, the airplane collided with shrubs at the end of the runway, shearing off both wings. According to the pilot's accident report, he landed on runway 35 because "all the winds have been out of the north this winter...I suppose I saw what I had expected to see." His attempted go-around was unsuccessful because the airplane had a nearly full fuel load. The pilot summarized, "I must have thought this [landing] was going to be like all the others and didn't double check everything as I usually do. Complacency has no place in the cockpit and the penalty of seeing your pride and joy damaged is indeed severe. If we all could just imagine an outcome such as mine before every flight, awareness of every detail would be increased." According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector the pilot said he inadvertently landed with a tailwind. Realizing his mistake and unable to stop the airplane on the runway remaining, he attempted to takeoff; however, the airplane collided with shrubs at the end of the runway, shearing off both wings. The pilot said that his attempted go-around was unsuccessful because the airplane had a nearly full fuel load. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Personality/attitude-Complacency-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot - C
• F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Contributed to outcome - F
• F Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Climb capability-Capability exceeded - F