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CEN14CA018

2013-10-13 · Telluride, Colorado, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TEX

Current FAA registration · N26RG

Make / Model
BEECH A36
Year of manufacture
1987 · 26 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO-550 SERIES (300 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19870902
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A27E22

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's decision to take off in gusting tailwinds resulting in exceeding the performance capabilities of the airplane and subsequent loss of control.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated the reported winds near his departure time were 140 degrees at 24 knots, and he elected to depart from runway 27. During climb out, shortly after he rotated, the airplane weathervaned hard to the left and the stall warning horn sounded. The pilot felt a strong gust of wind as he attempted to clear rising terrain, and thought he encountered a strong down draft or rotor, followed by the airplane impacting terrain. Wind recorded five minutes before the accident was from 130 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 29 knots. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot stated the reported winds near his departure time were 140 degrees at 24 knots, and he elected to depart from runway 27. During climb out, shortly after he rotated, the airplane weathervaned hard to the left and the stall warning horn sounded. The pilot felt a strong gust of wind as he attempted to clear rising terrain, and thought he encountered a strong down draft or rotor, followed by the airplane impacting terrain. Wind recorded five minutes before the accident was from 130 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 29 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - F
  • F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Decision related to condition - F
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Contributed to outcome
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Capability exceeded
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN14CA018.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, loss of control). All research papers