Cessna A185E N185WK accident near Seattle, Washington

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing roll with a crosswind.

NTSB analysis

According to the pilots of the tailwheel-equipped airplane, the pilot/owner offered to let the second pilot land the airplane. During the landing, the airplane landed hard, bounced, and began to yaw to the right. Both pilots then applied control inputs to regain control of the airplane, however the airplane ground looped to the right. Subsequently, the airplane’s left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing impacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. At the time of the accident, the pilots were landing on runway 14L with wind from 240° at 5 knots.

The pilots reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR25LA014 for the full record.