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Atlas / NTSB / WPR22LA029

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR22LA029

2021-11-04 Challis, Idaho, United States Airport · PVT None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of directional control after the airplane encountered a gust of wind during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

The pilot in the tail wheel equipped airplane reported that, he overflew the runway to check the windsock. Having established the wind was out of the southwest, he entered the traffic pattern, and confirmed the wind condition again during the downwind leg. The landing approach and touchdown were uneventful, until the airplane encountered a gust of wind that caused a change in heading. The airplane flew toward a fence, and the pilot applied engine power to correct the drift, but the airplane struck the fence and nosed over. The wings 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).

  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_WPR22LA029.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.