Event CEN11CA521

Factual narrative

The personal flight with two pilots aboard departed with no predetermined destination. The right seat pilot was the flying pilot. The left seat pilot was the nonflying pilot and also the airplane's owner. They overflew one airport and decided to go on to another airport where they would land. The right seat pilot overflew the destination airport in order to determine the wind direction. As he overflew the airport, he saw a flag by the terminal and a "limp" windsock, which was very hard to see and gave "poor" information. During the landing, the airplane ground looped. The airplane sustained substantial damage to fuselage. A crosswind with gusting winds prevailed at the time of the accident. Prior to landing, the pilot overflew the airport to determine the wind direction, but all he saw was a limp wind sock. During the landing, the airplane encountered an 80-degree, gusting crosswind and the airplane ground looped. The airplane's fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane and said the accident could have been prevented if he had made a low pass over the runway to determine the wind direction and speed prior to landing. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Weather planning-Pilot