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WPR10CA218

2010-04-28 · North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport VGT

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind conditions during taxi.

Factual narrative

The pilot aborted the first landing attempt to runway 12R due to the gusty wind conditions. After landing uneventfully on runway 25, the pilot was instructed to taxi to parking via runway 12R and a right turn onto intersection Charlie. The pilot reported that while taxiing eastbound on runway 12R and while inputting neutral elevator and a significant amount of right aileron to combat the right-to-left crosswind, "I felt a significant wind gust from the south...The right wing and nose gear were lifted up off of the runway and the airplane was flipped over on its back." Substantial damage was confirmed to both wings, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. Winds about 10 minutes after the accident were reported from 220 degrees at 28 knots with gusts to 38 knots. The pilot aborted the first landing attempt to runway 12R due to the gusty wind conditions. After landing uneventfully on runway 25, the pilot was instructed to taxi to parking via runway 12R and a right turn onto intersection Charlie. The pilot reported that while taxiing eastbound on runway 12R and while inputting neutral elevator and a significant amount of right aileron to combat the right-to-left crosswind, "I felt a significant wind gust from the south...The right wing and nose gear were lifted up off of the runway and the airplane was flipped over on its back." Substantial damage was confirmed to both wings, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. Winds about 10 minutes after the accident were reported from 220 degrees at 28 knots with gusts to 38 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Response/compensation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_WPR10CA218.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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