Event WPR20CA058

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that due to a quartering tailwind, he conducted a wheel landing in the tailwheel equipped airplane. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane was pushed toward the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to realign the airplane with full right rudder and power to correct the drift, but to no avail. The airplane subsequently struck a sign along the edge of the runway and ground looped, substantially damaging the aft fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, due to a quartering tailwind, he conducted a wheel landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane was pushed toward the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to correct the drift by applying full right rudder and power to no avail. The airplane subsequently struck a sign along the edge of the runway and ground looped, which resulted in substantial damage to the aft fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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
• C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Effect on operation - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Sign/marker-Effect on operation - C