- Date
- May 17, 2018, 18:47 local (May 18, 2018, 00:47 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7265KPiper PA 18
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20180517005479A
- Case key
- 97270
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of directional control following an encounter with gusty crosswind during landing.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
After an uneventful 40-minute cross-country flight, the pilot set up to land his tailwheel airplane. The pilot checked with the tower and the controller reported the wind from 240° at 17 knots, gusting to 25 knots. The pilot set up to land on runway 22. The pilot stated that upon landing, the airplane encountered a strong gusty crosswind and he lost directional control. The airplane veered to the left across the runway surface and flipped inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the wings, wing struts, and fuselage.
Factual narrative
After an uneventful 40-minute cross country flight, the pilot set up to land his tailwheel airplane. The pilot checked with the tower and they reported the wind from 240 degrees at 17 knots, gusting to 25 knots. The pilot set up to land on runway 22. The pilot stated that upon landing, the aircraft encountered a strong gusty crosswind and he lost directional control. The aircraft veered to the left across the runway surface and flipped inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the wings, wing struts, and fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7265K
- Reported as
- Piper PA 18 (105 SPECIA)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-158
- Built
- 1950
- Airframe hours
- 1,400
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 16, 2018
- Departed
- FMN · Farmington, NM
- Destination
- AEG · Albuquerque, NM
- Airport
- AEG · Double Eagle II Airport, runway 22, 7,398 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,540 total · 12 in this make and model · 31 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 18 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
- Observed at
- AEG
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 5, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.