NTSB CEN25LA210 — 2025-06-15 · Fort Morgan, Colorado, United States

Current FAA registration · N1996C

Make / Model: CESSNA 170B
Year of manufacture: 1953 · 72 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR C145 SERIES (145 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19551111
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A18CC7

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1996C Cessna 170B None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during a gusty crosswind landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot was conducting a full stall (3-point) landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot reported that after touchdown a wind gust from the right caused the airplane to roll left and ground loop. The fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged during the ground loop when the left landing gear collapsed. Based on the reported wind direction and speed at the airport, there was likely a right crosswind component of about 6 to 9 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA210.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers