NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN25LA315
Registry · N3443C
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 170B
Year of manufacture
1954 · 71 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19551015
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3CEEE
Registrant of record
PURSTELL KEVIN D
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll with crosswind.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, while landing, the airplane touched down and ground looped. During the ground loop, the right wing and horizontal stabilizer struck the ground. The airplane subsequently went nose down and came to rest back upright, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and horizontal stabilizer. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 13 with wind from 110° at 11 knots. The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. 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).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2025_CEN25LA315.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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