NTSB WPR21LA349 — 2021-09-20 · San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States

Current FAA registration · N1196V

Make / Model: BEECH D17S
Year of manufacture: 1944 · 77 years old at event
Engine: P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)
Seats / Engines: 5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19560918
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A050E0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1196V Beech D17S None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll with a crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion and subsequent collision with runway signage.

Factual narrative

The pilot in the tailwheel-equipped biplane reported that, during the landing roll with a crosswind from the left, the airplane veered to the left, exited the left side of the runway and collided with runway signage. The pilot regained directional control of the airplane and taxied to parking. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom left-wing ribs. 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

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Runway/taxi/approach light-Effect on equipment
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_WPR21LA349.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers