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WPR23LA254

2023-07-04 · Belgrade, Montana, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KBZN

Current FAA registration · N3171H

Make / Model
MAULE MX-7-180
Year of manufacture
2018 · 5 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O-360-C1F (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20180407
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A36355

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing with a quartering tailwind, which resulted in a runway excursion and nose over.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that during landing, the airplane’s tail swung to the right and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane struck a runway edge cone, then exited the turf runway and nosed over. The left wing, both wing struts, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder were substantially damaged. The pilot said there was a 6-10 kt left quartering tailwind when he exited the airplane. He reported that 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.

  • — 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-Tailwind-Ability to respond/compensate

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA254.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