Event WPR20CA134

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that, she aborted the first landing due to the wind changing direction with slight gusts. During the second landing, as the airplane was rolling out, the pilot applied brakes as the wind simultaneously shifted and lifted the tail of the airplane upward, which resulted in the airplane coming to rest in a nose low attitude. The pilot said that following a momentary pause, another gust of wind lifted the tail and flipped the airplane upside down, near the right side of the runway. The right-wing lift strut, rudder, and vertical stabilizer were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that she aborted the first landing due to the wind changing direction and slight gusts. During the rollout after the second landing, the pilot applied brakes as the wind simultaneously shifted and lifted the tail upward, which resulted in the propeller striking the runway and the airplane coming to rest in a nose-low attitude. Shortly after, another wind gust lifted the tail, which caused the airplane to flip over. The right-wing lift strut, rudder, and vertical stabilizer were substantially damaged. 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-Gusts-Effect on operation - C