Event WPR19LA153

Factual narrative

On May 22, 2019, about 0915 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 195 airplane, N1008D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Socorro, New Mexico. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that, when he approached the airport, the wind was calm. The tailwheel-equipped airplane touched down onto runway 33 fast and bounced. When the airplane settled back onto the runway, it started to veer to the right. He applied left rudder and brakes; the left brake went all the way down and the airplane exited the right side of the runway. The airplane ground looped and the left main landing gear separated. The pilot reported that, when he exited the airplane, he noticed that the wind had increased. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any anomalies with the braking system; however, due to the separation of the left main landing gear, the system could not be operationally tested. Review of recorded weather observations at the accident airport indicated calm wind conditions until 0855, when wind was reported from 180º at 3 knots. At 0915, wind had increased to 9 knots from the same direction. Based on the 2-minute average, the reported wind indicated a 3-knot crosswind and 8-knot tailwind for landing on runway 33. The pilot stated that, as he approached the airport for landing, the wind was reported as calm. During landing, the tailwheel-equipped airplane touched down fast and bounced. When the airplane settled back onto the runway, it started to veer to the right. The pilot applied left rudder and brakes; the left brake went all the way down and the airplane exited the right side of the runway and ground looped, and the left main landing gear separated from the airplane. The pilot reported that when he exited the airplane, he noticed that the wind had increased. Examination of the brake system did not reveal any anomalies. Review of recorded weather observations from the accident airport indicated that, about the time of the accident, quartering tailwind conditions existed for the pilot’s chosen runway, with a tailwind component of about 8 knots and a right crosswind component of about 3 knots. Given this information, the accident is consistent with the pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing with a quartering tailwind. 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
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Effect on operation
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-(general)-Effect on operation
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot