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 ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Optimal recovery from microburst wind shear
The flight path of a twin-jet transport aircraft is optimized in a microburst encounter during approach to landing. The objective is to execute an escape maneuver that maintains safe ground clearance …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Analysis of extreme wind shear
New methods utilizing extreme value statistical theory are applied in the analysis of the largest wind component shear in a wind profile as a function of shear layer thickness and season.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM) Probabilities of zero wind shear phenomena based on Rawinsonde data records
Probabilities of zero wind shear occurence and depth based on rawinsonde data records
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) A Wind Shear Mechanism for Producing Sporadic E by Concentrating Minor Meteoric Ions
Wind shear mechanism for producing sporadic E layer by concentrating minor meteoric ions
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM) Some aspects of wind shear in the upper atmosphere
Hydrodynamic turbulence and wind shear in upper atmosphere