Cessna 190 N190CG accident near Idaho Falls, Idaho

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll in crosswind conditions.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that while conducting a wheel landing the tailwheel equipped airplane, it bounced twice, and he applied nose down elevator pressure to arrest the bounces. While doing so, he relaxed left aileron input, and the left wing began to rise, and the crosswind pushed the airplane to the right. The pilot stated that at this point the airplane was unrecoverable and the airplane ground looped. During the ground loop, the left main landing gear separated, and the left wing and fuselage struck the ground which resulted in substantial damage to both. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing on runway 21 with wind from 170° at 11 knots.

In a subsequent statement the pilot reported that the initial ground loop occurred because of a loss of aircraft control, but that the failure of the gear leg may have been due to a pre-existing corrosion he observed in the leg after the accident. However, during the removal of the airplane from the accident site the gear leg fracture surface was ground down, and the gear leg welded temporarily back into place. Therefore, a determination of the leg condition before the accident could not be made.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR25LA125 for the full record.