NTSB WPR20CA174 — 2020-04-12 · Concord, California, United States

Current FAA registration · N111XW

Make / Model: EXTRA FLUGZEUGBAU GMBH EA-300
Year of manufacture: 1997 · 23 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING AEIO-540 SER (260 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19970401
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A0320C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N111XW Extra EA 300 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that, after touchdown he applied the brakes and the tail very abruptly "whipped around" 180°. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing tip struck the runway surface, resulting in substantial damage to the wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. 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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_WPR20CA174.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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