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WPR24LA120

2024-03-30 · Angel Fire, New Mexico, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AXX

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff with a gusting crosswind..

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during takeoff with a gusting crosswind, the airplane veered to the left. He attempted to correct with right rudder an elevator inputs, however, the airplane continued to veer left, and he aborted the takeoff. The airplane exited the left side of runway and impacted a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine mounts. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was departing on runway 35 with wind from 250° at 12 to 15 knots, gusting to 18 to 20 knots. 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-Crosswind-Effect on operation
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_WPR24LA120.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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