- Date
- May 29, 2006, 22:45 local (May 30, 2006, 04:45 UTC)
- Place
- Wichita Falls, TX
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N201XWMooney M20J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060529010399A
- Case key
- 63781
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 failure to compensate for existing wind conditions. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The 84-hour private pilot stated that during the landing flare, while at approximately 3 to 4 feet above the runway, a "strong burst of wind hit the aircraft from the left side raising the left wing and moving the aircraft to the right of the runway." The pilot stated that he attempted to correct the rise in the left wing and abort the landing when the right wing impacted the ground. The accident occurred on runway 17, which is 4,450-feet long and 75-feet wide. At the time of the accident the weather observation facility located 5 miles from the accident site was reporting winds from 130 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 23 knots.
Factual narrative
The 84-hour private pilot stated that during the landing flare, while at approximately 3 to 4 feet above the runway, a "strong burst of wind hit the aircraft from the left side raising the left wing and moving the aircraft to the right of the runway." The pilot stated that he attempted to correct the rise in the left wing and abort the landing when the right wing impacted the ground. The accident occurred on runway 17, which is 4,450-feet long and 75-feet wide. At the time of the accident the weather observation facility located 5 miles from the accident site was reporting winds from 130 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 23 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N201XW
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-0483
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- 201 LLC
- Registered owner
- 201 LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- T47 · Wichita Falls, TX
- Destination
- T47 · Wichita Falls, TX
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 84 total · 24 in this make and model · 24 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.