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Atlas / NTSB / WPR23LA354

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR23LA354

2023-04-28 Ennis, Montana, United States Airport · EKS None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N687HZ

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

KERR JOHN HATZ CLASSIC

Year of manufacture

2009 · 14 years old at event

Engine

AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20090422

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A91DFF

Registrant of record

BROWN VERNE L

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll which resulted in a ground-loop.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped, experimental amateur-built airplane, reported that during the landing roll he decreased the airplane’s speed to exit the runway, but a ground loop ensued. He did not recall whether he inadvertently applied the heel brakes, or if the airplane encountered a wind gust. The meteorological aerodrome report located at the accident airport about the time of the accident reported that, the wind was out of 130° and the wind velocity was 4 knots. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom left wing spar. 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).

  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA354.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.