- Date
- March 5, 2025, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Weslaco, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3341VCessna 150
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA - San Antonio, TX FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250305003029A
- Case key
- 199807
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 improper landing flare while attempting to land with a tailwind, which resulted in a hard 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
The pilot was conducting a practice landing when the airplane touched down hard on the tailwheel, resulting in substantial damage to the aft fuselage. The pilot attempted to abort the landing but was unable to manipulate the elevator control surface due to the damage. During the attempt to abort the landing, the airplane struck a sign on the left side of the runway that separated the right main landing gear from the fuselage. The airplane then ground looped to the right, exited the right side of the runway, and came to rest. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 32 with wind from 070° at 10 knots. The pilot reported having 5 hours as pilot in command (PIC) in the accident airplane before the accident and that he had not flown in about 4 months. The combination of inexperience and not having flown recently likely affected the pilot’s performance.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3341V
- Reported as
- Cessna 150 (M)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15076467
- Built
- 1974
- Airframe hours
- 475
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 17, 2025
- Departed
- KTXW · Weslaco, TX
- Destination
- KTXW · Weslaco, TX
- Airport
- KTXW · Mid Valley Airport, runway 14, 6,002 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 29, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 220 total · 20 in this make and model · 150 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.08 inHg
- Observed at
- KTXW
- METAR
- METAR KTXW 051955Z AUTO 07010KT 10SM BKN038 BKN045 28/05 A3008 RMK AO2 T02810048=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 9, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.9 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.