Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / WPR12CA397

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR12CA397

2012-09-03 Spanish Fork, Utah, United States Airport · U77 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

The pilot was performing touch-and-go landings for proficiency. On the last roll-out, he relaxed for a brief moment. The airplane started to veer to the left, and the pilot was unable to recover. It ground looped to the left; one landing gear collapsed, the propeller contacted the ground, the right wing tip struck the pavement, and the tail wheel attachment was bent. The pilot was performing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings for proficiency. On the last rollout, the pilot relaxed for a brief moment, and the airplane started to veer to the left; the pilot was unable to recover. The airplane ground looped and the landing gear collapsed. The propeller contacted the ground, the right wing tip struck the pavement, and the tailwheel attachment was bent. The pilot said the accident could have been prevented if he had been more proficient in tailwheel-equipped airplanes. He reported 3 hours within the last 90 days. 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_WPR12CA397.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.