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Atlas / NTSB / ERA12CA334

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA12CA334

2012-05-11 Weirsdale, Florida, United States Airport · 97FL None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N71327

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BOEING A75N1(PT17)

Year of manufacture

1941 · 71 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR W670 SERIES (250 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20120309

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A989F0

Registrant of record

THREE POINT AVIATION LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing in a gusty variable crosswind.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel airplane was performing a landing to runway 9, a 2,500-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, turf runway. During the landing, the wind was gusting up to 18 knots from varying directions. The wind was initially a headwind, then a left crosswind, and then a right crosswind. As the airplane touched down, a gust of wind caused the airplane to drift left off of the runway. The airplane traveled down an embankment, struck a tree, and came to rest nose down. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the wings and right horizontal stabilizer. The recorded wind at an airport located about 10 miles southeast of the accident site, about 20 minutes after the accident, was from 110 degrees at 10 knots. The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane was landing on a turf runway when a gust of wind caused the airplane to drift off the left side of the runway. The airplane traveled down an embankment, struck a tree, and came to rest nose down. The pilot stated that during the landing, the wind was gusting up to 18 knots from varying directions (initially a headwind, then a left crosswind, and then a right crosswind). He further stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination revealed damage to the wings and right horizontal stabilizer. The recorded wind at an airport located about 10 miles southeast of the accident site about 20 minutes after the accident was from 110 degrees at 10 knots. 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).

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_ERA12CA334.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.