Event ERA23LA095

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the uneventful local flight he heard two pilots on the radio discussing the wind conditions at his destination airport and that a direct crosswind prevailed there. While approaching the runway for landing, the pilot described that the wind was “choppy” and that he applied constant inputs with the rudder and aileron controls. Near the midpoint of the runway, the pilot described that he encountered stronger than expected wind from the right. The pilot landed the airplane on both main wheels and applied left rudder to stay aligned with the runway. Despite the control input from the pilot, the airplane veered to the right, departed the right side of the runway, and nosed-over resulting in substantial damage to the wings and empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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).

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