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Atlas / NTSB / WPR23LA284

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR23LA284

2023-07-22 Red Lodge, Montana, United States Airport · RED None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N53132

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BOEING A75N1

Year of manufacture

1942 · 81 years old at event

Engine

P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19970728

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A6B700

Registrant of record

EWALD ROBERT H

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of directional control during landing with wind gusts, which resulted in a ground loop and collision with a fence.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, while landing a tailwheel airplane, a gust of wind pushed the tail to the right. The pilot attempted to correct with rudder and differential braking; however, the airplane ground looped to the left and veered off the left side of the runway impacting a fence and substantially damaging the left wings. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact 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-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Contributed to outcome
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Ability to respond/compensate

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA284.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.