Event GAA16CA446

Factual narrative

The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the landing roll with a crosswind the airplane drifted to the left. He further reported that his control inputs to correct created a "swerve," which resulted in a ground loop to the right on the runway. During the ground loop, the left wing was substantially damaged after an impact with the runway. An automated weather observing system near the time of the accident at the airport recorded the wind at 340 degrees true at 8 knots. The pilot reported he landed on runway 30. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the landing roll with a crosswind the airplane drifted to the left. He further reported that his control inputs to correct created a "swerve," which resulted in a ground loop to the right on the runway. During the ground loop, the left wing was substantially damaged after an impact with the runway.  An automated weather observing system near the time of the accident at the airport recorded the wind at 340 degrees true at 8 knots. The pilot reported he landed on runway 30. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunction or failure 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).

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