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WPR14CA150

2014-03-27 · Yakima, Washington, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport YKM

Current FAA registration · N553GW

Make / Model
JUST AIRCRAFT LLC HIGHLANDER
Year of manufacture
2008 · 6 years old at event
Engine
JABIRU 3300 (120 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20080924
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A70B3B

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswind conditions and the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision, resulting in a loss of directional control during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings with the flight instructor during gusting crosswind conditions. On the fifth touchdown, the tailwheel equipped airplane bounced and the student increased engine power. The airplane settled back down to a three-point landing. During the ground roll, the right wing lifted up and the instructor applied full right aileron, down elevator, and full right rudder control. The wing continued to lift, and the airplane began to turn left. The instructor applied full engine power as the airplane departed the runway. The left wing touched the ground and the airplane continued another 50 feet, rotating onto the right wing, and then nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings during the accident sequence. The pilot's reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings with the flight instructor during gusting crosswind conditions. On the fifth touchdown, the tailwheel equipped airplane bounced and the student increased engine power. The airplane settled back down to a three-point landing. During the ground roll, the right wing lifted up and the instructor applied full right aileron, down elevator, and full right rudder control. The wing continued to lift, and the airplane began to turn left. The instructor applied full engine power as the airplane departed the runway. The left wing touched the ground and the airplane continued another 50 feet, rotating onto the right wing, and then nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings during the accident sequence. The pilot's 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 Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Response/compensation - C
  • C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Response/compensation - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Instructor/check pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_WPR14CA150.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 (icing). All research papers