- Date
- July 9, 2025, 14:49 local (20:49 UTC)
- Place
- Greeley, CO
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N81210Fairchild 24R
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Flight control sys malf/fail
- 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 FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250709009089A
- Case key
- 200504
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 inability to maintain directional control during landing due to excessive wear in the tailwheel steering assembly.
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
During the landing as the tailwheel touched down on the runway, the tailwheel began to shimmy, and the airplane drifted left of the centerline. The left seat pilot attempted to maintain control, and the right seat pilot twice made minor inputs to maintain the centerline and “lifted the tailwheel” to alleviate the shimmy. When the tailwheel touched down a third time and the airplane’s full weight was placed on the tailwheel, the airplane veered sharply to the left. Full application of the right rudder did not correct the left turn, and the airplane ground looped. Substantial damage was sustained to the airplane’s left wing. A postaccident examination of the airplane found that the steering arm of the tailwheel assembly had been contacting tail structure in a location that was only visible when the tailwheel suspension and steering assembly had been removed and not during the routine annual inspection. It is likely that the airplane’s weight load on the tailwheel compressed the area enough due to excessive wear to restrict steering and rudder control during the landing. The airplane had accumulated 2 hours of flight since the most recent annual inspection.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81210
- Reported as
- Fairchild 24R (46)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- R46-111
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 1,658.5
- Engine
- Ranger 6-400C-5, 200 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fairchild Argus LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 2, 2025 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- GXY · Greeley-Weld County, runway 28, 5,801 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor, Military
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 22, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,166 total · 40 in this make and model · 2,234 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 80
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 21, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,311 total · 102 in this make and model · 1,073 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 102 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- KGXY, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KGXY 092056Z 00000KT 10SM 39/M03 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP126 T03891028 56020 $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 18, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.3 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.
Other investigations on N81210 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.