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Atlas / NTSB / GAA17CA414

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event GAA17CA414

2017-07-16 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Airport · ABQ None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N166Z

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA TU206G

Year of manufacture

1986 · 31 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR TSIO-520 SER (300 hp)

Seats / Engines

6 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19910102

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A10A37

Registrant of record

USDA FOREST SERVICE FIRE & AVIATION

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a porpoised landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the landing touchdown, a gust of wind caused the airplane to float back into the air. Subsequently, the airplane porpoised, and he initiated a go-around. The second landing was uneventful, however, before the airplane exited onto the taxiway the front wheel seized. A post-accident examination revealed that, the front tire rim was damaged and the tire was flat. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system on the accident airport reported, about the time of the accident, the wind from 120° at 11 knots. The pilot landed on runway 12. The pilot reported that, during the touchdown, a wind gust caused the airplane to float back into the air. Subsequently, the airplane porpoised, and he initiated a go-around. The second landing was uneventful; however, before the airplane exited onto the taxiway, the front wheel seized. A postaccident examination revealed that the front tire rim was damaged and that the tire was flat. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system on the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 120° at 11 knots. The pilot landed on runway 12. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA17CA414.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗