Event CEN25LA092

Factual narrative

The flight instructor was demonstrating a landing to the pilot who was receiving instruction. At the time of the landing, the flight instructor reported the wind condition was “variable and gusty.” During the landing roll on the dry asphalt runway, he lost directional control, a ground loop occurred, and the airplane departed the runway to the right. The airplane came to rest inverted on a grass field near the runway, and the two occupants were able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, the right wing strut, and the empennage. The flight instructor reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor, who had a total of 20 hours tailwheel flight time (with 9 hours performing tailwheel flight instruction), further reported that the accident could have been prevented by obtaining more experience from a “more qualified” flight instructor before instructing in “variable and gusty” wind conditions. 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).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Instructor/check pilot
• — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Instructor/check pilot