Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / WPR23LA206

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR23LA206

2023-05-29 Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States Airport · DNA None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N1126D

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 140A

Year of manufacture

1951 · 72 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR C90 SERIES (95 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19560323

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A036CF

Registrant of record

HYNDS MICHELLE S

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of control after encountering a dust devil during landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported winds at the airport were 6 gusting to 13 knots, 30 degrees from runway heading during the approach to landing. Upon touchdown, the airplane began to bounce, and she felt a strong crosswind pushing her to the right. She elected to initiate a go-around, however, the right wing lifted, and the left wing impacted the ground. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane ground looped. The left wing and aileron sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated the airport experiences dust devils frequently and often they are not visible. A review of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28) and the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual found no detailed information listed about dust devils or the potential hazards of flying through dust devils. 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).

  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Response/compensation
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Attain/maintain not possible
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Dust devil/whirlwind-Contributed to outcome
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Dust devil/whirlwind-Ability to respond/compensate

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA206.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control, go-around). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗