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CEN24LA262

2024-07-12 · Hackney, Kansas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport WLD

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll in a gusting wind condition.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing roll in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, a gust of wind picked up the right wing. He attempted to correct with full right aileron, rudder, and full power to initiate a go-around. The pilot stated that he aborted the go-around, and the airplane ground looped and exited the left side of the runway. During the ground loop, the left wing struck the ground which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing, its lift strut, and the fuselage. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 17 with wind from 180° at 16 knots, gusting to 25 knots. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Crosswind correction-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA262.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers