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WPR23LA363

2023-08-13 · Needles, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 49X

Current FAA registration · N2957N

Make / Model
PIPER PA-32-300
Year of manufacture
1979 · 44 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-540 SER (300 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19790724
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A30B67

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

An encounter with windshear during the initial climb after takeoff, resulting in a loss of control and a subsequent hard landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that during initial takeoff climb, the airplane encountered windshear. He was unable to regain control and the airplane touched down hard on the paved runway. The airplane then veered off to the left of the runway and came to rest with the right main and nose landing gear separated from the fuselage. As a result of the impact, the spar sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no pre impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Windshear-Ability to respond/compensate
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA363.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 (loss of control). All research papers