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Atlas / NTSB / CEN11CA290

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN11CA290

2011-04-14 Park Falls, Wisconsin, United States Airport · PKF None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during an aborted landing.

Factual narrative

While on final approach to the runway, the airplane encountered unexpected winds, and the student pilot decided to abort the landing. He then applied full throttle and increased pitch. During the attempted aborted landing, a right quartering tailwind "blew the airplane off the runway area", and the left wing and nose wheel contacted the terrain. The airplane came to rest upright adjacent to the runway and sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall and both wings. The student pilot stated there were no anomalies with the airframe or engine. He recommended that the accident could have been prevented if he maintained sufficient airspeed during final approach. While on final approach to the runway, the airplane encountered unexpected wind, and the student pilot decided to abort the landing. He then applied full throttle and increased pitch. During the attempted aborted landing, a right quartering tailwind blew the airplane off the runway area, and the left wing and nose wheel contacted the terrain. The airplane came to rest upright adjacent to the runway and sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall and both wings. The student pilot stated there were no anomalies with the airframe or engine. He recommended that the accident could have been prevented if he maintained sufficient airspeed during final approach. 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_CEN11CA290.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.