Skip to content

DEN02LA048

2002-05-24 · Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CYS

N25BA has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II, built 2010), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control.

Factual narrative

On May 24, 2002, at 1203 mountain daylight time, a Helio H-391B, N25BA, was substantially damaged when the airplane ground looped during takeoff at Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne, Wyoming. The private pilot was not injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, a VFR flight plan had been filed but had not activated, and a special VFR departure clearance had been obtained. The personal flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident, and was en route to Logan, Utah. According to the pilot's accident report, there was "a slight crosswind from the left at 10 knots" as he rolled out onto the right side of runway 26 (9,200 feet x 150 feet, concrete, grooved). As the tail wheel lifted off and the front gear started getting "light," a gust of wind started turning the airplane into the wind. Just prior to liftoff, the right gear collapsed and the airplane veered off the runway between taxiways B4 and B5. The following recorded weather conditions existed at the time of the accident: wind, 190 degrees at 13 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; ceiling, 800 feet broken, 13,000 feet overcast; temperature 3 degrees C. (37.4 degrees F.); dew point, 0 degrees C. (32 degrees F.); altimeter setting, 30.10. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed right wing damage from the root to the tip. The fixed right landing gear had collapsed, buckling the right forward fuselage and firewall. The pilot said there was "a slight crosswind from the left at 10 knots" as he rolled out onto the right side of runway 26 (9,200 feet x 150 feet, concrete, grooved). As the tail wheel lifted off and the front gear started getting "light," a gust of wind started turning the airplane into the wind. Just prior to liftoff, the right gear collapsed and the airplane veered off the runway, buckling the right forward fuselage and firewall. Wind at the time of the accident was from 190 degrees at 13 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2002_DEN02LA048.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.