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FTW95LA132

1995-03-04 · GREELEY, Colorado, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GXY

N951BW has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PZL-BIELSKO B1-PW-5, built 2001), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR WIND CONDITIONS. A FACTOR WAS A SUDDEN WIND SHIFT.

Factual narrative

On March 4, 1995, at 1115 mountain standard time, a Schmanski Kitfox III, N951BW, was destroyed during an aborted landing at Greeley, Colorado. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight. The following is based on the pilot/operator report: The pilot took off and remained in the traffic pattern. The landing approach was normal and the touch down was on the runway centerline but the airplane bounced due to a "rear quarter shear." The pilot applied full power in an attempt to go around, but the gusts continued taking the aircraft to the right of the runway and blew it into the hangar. Witness statements corroborated the pilot's report. THE PILOT TOOK OFF AND REMAINED IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. THE LANDING APPROACH WAS NORMAL AND THE TOUCH DOWN WAS ON THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE BUT, ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE AIRPLANE BOUNCED DUE TO A REAR QUARTERING TAILWIND SHEAR. THE PILOT SAID HE APPLIED FULL POWER IN AN ATTEMPT TO ABORT THE LANDING, BUT THE WIND FORCED THE AIRPLANE INTO THE SIDE OF A HANGAR. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1995_FTW95LA132.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.