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WPR23LA356

2023-09-22 · Eatonville, Washington, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 2W3

Current FAA registration · N7955H

Make / Model
PIPER PA-12
Year of manufacture
1946 · 77 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 hp)
Seats / Engines
3 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19560716
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AACDA7

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, in gusty wind conditions, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while taking off in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, he experienced a wind gust that lifted the left wing upwards and caused the right wing to contact the runway. Subsequently, he lost directional control of the airplane, resulting in a ground loop and impact with a berm. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane 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-Pilot
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on equipment
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA356.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