NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX98LA174
Registry · N4101E
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
AERONCA 11CC
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4D6A0
Registrant of record
MAIDENS JAMES M
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout. A factor was the gusty wind.
Factual narrative
On May 23, 1998, at 1215 hours mountain standard time, a Piper PA-18-150, N4101E, ground looped after landing at the Sedona, Arizona, airport. The aircraft, operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and one passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight had originated from the Chandler, Arizona, airport the day of the accident and was scheduled to terminate at Sedona. The pilot stated that he received weather from Sedona's Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) which was reporting winds from 140 degrees at 7 to 10 knots, and recommended usage of runway 3. He reported that he chose to land into the wind on runway 21. The pilot stated that after landing the aircraft was struck by a gust of wind. The airport AWOS was reporting winds from 140 degrees at 7 to 10 knots and recommended that runway 3 be used for landing. The pilot chose to land on runway 21 into the wind. On the landing rollout the aircraft was struck by a gust of wind and subsequently ground looped. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1998_LAX98LA174.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.