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ERA10CA217

2010-04-07 · Greensboro, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport W88

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate compensation for a wind gust during the landing approach, which resulted in a loss of directional control.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was on approach to land on runway 27, a 2,460-foot-long, 65-foot-wide, runway. The pilot reported that when the airplane was about 30 to 40 above the ground, it experienced a sudden gust of wind which resulted in a loss of altitude and a veer to the left. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its left wing, when it struck a parked, unoccupied airplane before coming to rest on the ground. The pilot reported 4,539 hours of total flight experience, which included 45 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. A weather observation taken at an airport located about 8 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, reported winds from 200 degrees at 13 knots. The reported winds 1 hour before, and 1 hour after that observation were from 210 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 28 knots, and from 220 degrees at 17 knots, gusting to 24 knots; respectively. The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was on approach to land on runway 27. The pilot reported that, when the airplane was about 30 to 40 feet above the ground, it experienced a sudden gust of wind which resulted in a loss of altitude and a veer to the left. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its left wing when it struck a parked, unoccupied airplane before coming to rest on the ground. A weather observation taken at an airport located about 8 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, reported winds from 200 degrees at 13 knots. The reported winds 1 hour before and 1 hour after that observation were from 210 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 28 knots, and from 220 degrees at 17 knots, gusting to 24 knots, respectively. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Response/compensation - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_ERA10CA217.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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