ERA17CA149

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that after a thorough preflight inspection and passenger briefing, he started the engine and noted that there was an 80° left crosswind at 5 kts, with gusts to 15 kts. He performed an engine run-up and checked the flight controls, then departed to fly around the local area for about 20 minutes. He then returned to the departure airport, and because the airplane was only equipped with a single radio and traffic congestion, he did not monitor the weather or ask for a wind check. He performed a "high break" at traffic pattern altitude and while on final approach with the flaps fully extended, he maintained a left wing low attitude to correct for the left crosswind. He performed a wheel landing, but as the tailwheel was lowering, the left wing raised "dramatically" and the right wingtip contacted the runway. He added power to abort the landing, but because the right wing was contacting the runway, the airplane pivoted to the right. The airplane went off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The pilot indicated there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The reported wind conditions about 5 minutes before the accident included a crosswind that was variable between 80° and 170° left of the selected runway heading, at a velocity of 8 kts, with gusts to 16kts. The pilot stated that, after a thorough preflight inspection and passenger briefing, he started the engine and noted that there was an 80° left crosswind at 5 knots, gusting to 15 knots. He performed an engine run-up, checked the flight controls, and then departed to fly around the local area for about 20 minutes. He then returned to the departure airport, and because the airplane was only equipped with a single radio and there was traffic congestion, he did not monitor the weather or ask for a wind check. He performed a "high break" at traffic pattern altitude, and while on final approach with the flaps fully extended, he maintained a left-wing-low attitude to correct for the left crosswind. He performed a wheel landing, but as the tailwheel was lowering, the left wing raised "dramatically," and the right wingtip contacted the runway. He added power to abort the landing, but because the right wing was contacting the runway, the airplane pivoted to the right. The airplane went off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The reported wind conditions about 5 minutes before the accident included a variable crosswind between 80° and 170° left of the selected runway heading at 8 knots, gusting to 16 knots. 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-Effect on operation - C
• 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