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ERA24LA005

2023-10-07 · Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SHD

Current FAA registration · N13BF

Make / Model
AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-180
Year of manufacture
2008 · 15 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O-360-A1P (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20090310
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A078F7

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inadequate compensation for the prevailing wind conditions, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot was returning to his home airport, and prior to landing, he received an automated weather briefing noting a 90-degree crosswind that was from 320 degrees at 12 knots, with gusts. The runway in use was runway 05, and a preceding aircraft reported a direct crosswind. The initial approach and landing were uneventful. When the airplane touched down and all three wheels were on the ground, an unexpected gust of wind lifted the left wing and started pushing the airplane towards the right. The airplane exited the runway into the grass. The wind then lifted the tail of the airplane and it nosed over onto the vertical stabilizer. The fuselage and empennage of the airplane were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane, that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Response/compensation
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_ERA24LA005.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control, runway excursion). All research papers