Cessna 140 N73081 accident near Llano, Texas

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, that resulted in a ground loop, and a susbquent runway excursion.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor was demonstrating a landing to the pilot who was receiving instruction. At the time of the landing, the flight instructor reported the wind condition was “variable and gusty.” During the landing roll on the dry asphalt runway, he lost directional control, a ground loop occurred, and the airplane departed the runway to the right. The airplane came to rest inverted on a grass field near the runway, and the two occupants were able to egress from the airplane without further incident.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, the right wing strut, and the empennage. The flight instructor reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor, who had a total of 20 hours tailwheel flight time (with 9 hours performing tailwheel flight instruction), further reported that the accident could have been prevented by obtaining more experience from a “more qualified” flight instructor before instructing in “variable and gusty” wind conditions.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN25LA092 for the full record.