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WPR13CA276

2013-06-17 · South Lake Tahoe, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TVL

Current FAA registration · N91GB

Make / Model
HARMON ROCKET LLC HARMON ROCKET II
Year of manufacture
2011 · 2 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-540-C4B5 (250 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20120112
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AC94EA

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing with a crosswind.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he contacted UNICOM as he approached the airport and was told that the gusting wind of 10 to 15 knots favored the southern runway. The first attempt to land resulted in a go-around due to an erratic and gusting right crosswind. During touchdown on the second attempt, the crosswind turned the airplane to the right. The pilot applied full left rudder, and was able to return the airplane to runway centerline. However, during the rollout, the airplane was again struck by the crosswind, and departed the runway surface and ground looped. The fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he contacted UNICOM as he approached the airport and was told that the gusting wind of 10 to 15 knots favored the southern runway. The first attempt to land resulted in a go-around due to an erratic and gusting right crosswind. During touchdown on the second attempt, the crosswind turned the airplane to the right. The pilot applied full left rudder, and was able to return the airplane to runway centerline. However, during the rollout, the airplane was again struck by the crosswind, and departed the runway surface and ground looped. The fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.       Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_WPR13CA276.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers