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FTW93LA182

1993-06-04 · OZONA, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OZA

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO CORRECTLY COMPENSATE FOR WIND CONDITIONS. A FACTOR WAS THE UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER WITH THE CROSSWIND.

Factual narrative

On June 4, 1993, at approximately 1755 central daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D, N96984, was substantially damaged when it struck a fence during landing at the municipal airport in Ozona, Texas. The airplane, owned and operated by the commercial pilot, was landing after a personal flight from Houston, Texas. There was a VFR flight plan filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The pilot stated that he made a low pass down the runway and the wind sock was indicating calm conditions. He subsequently landed on runway 34. He stated that after touchdown, he noticed that the left wing was lower than the right and the airplane veered left off of the runway and collided with a fence. He further stated that he did not notice any mechanical failures or malfunctions. After he got out of the airplane, the pilot noticed that the windsock was indicating a cross wind out of the east at about 12 knots. Two individuals at the airport reported to him that the wind had shifted just prior to the landing. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE WINDSOCK WAS INDICATING CALM WIND CONDITIONS WHEN HE MADE A LOW PASS DOWN THE RUNWAY AND HE SUBSEQUENTLY LANDED ON RUNWAY 34. AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE AIRPLANE GROUND LOOPED TO THE LEFT AND VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY INTO A FENCE. THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THAT AFTER HE GOT OUT OF THE AIRPLANE, THE WINDSOCK WAS INDICATING A CROSS WIND OUT OF THE EAST AT ABOUT 12 KNOTS. TWO INDIVIDUALS AT THE AIRPORT TOLD HIM THAT THE WIND SHIFTED JUST PRIOR TO HIS TOUCHING DOWN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_FTW93LA182.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.