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DEN89LA053

1989-01-02 · CHEYENNE, Wyoming, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CYS

N4440L has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-18-150, built 1979), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE HIGH WIND AND GUSTS, WHICH HE WAS UNABLE TO COMPENSATE FOR.

Factual narrative

THE ATP RATED PLT WAS TAXIING THE ACFT ON TAXIWAY 'B' TO RWY 26 FOR TAKEOFF. HE REPORTED THAT AS HE WAS TAXIING, A GUST LIFTED THE ACFT'S TAIL. THE ACFT THEN NOSED OVER & CAME TO REST INVERTED. THE PLT REPORTED THE WIND WAS FROM 250 DEG WITH GUSTS TO 45 KTS. DURING THE 1516 MST WX OBSERVATION, THE WIND WAS FROM 280 DEG AT 30 GUSTING 45 KTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_DEN89LA053.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

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