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WPR23LA248

2023-07-03 · Moses Lake, Washington, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MWH

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing.

Factual narrative

The instructor of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported a left crosswind during the landing approach. The pilot receiving instruction executed a 3-point landing and the tailwheel bounced twice. The instructor told the student to “pin the tail” by applying full aft elevator. The airplane deviated right of runway centerline and the pilot corrected with left rudder. The airplane crossed the centerline to the left and did not respond to full right rudder and heavy right braking. The airplane ground looped to the left sustaining substantial damage to the right wing and right horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures 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-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA248.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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