Fort Worth, TX, USA
N233CR
Reinhart GP-4
The 742-hour private pilot reported that during his departure from runway 17, the wind was from approximately 200 degrees at 10 knots. When he returned about an hour later, the wind had shifted to approximately 250-260 degrees at 15-20 knots with gusts. The pilot made two attempts at a crosswind landing on runway 17, each time striking a runway light with the airplane and initiating a go-around. The pilot reported that the right flap was damaged during the first attempt, and the landing gear retract link was damaged during the second landing attempt. During the third landing attempt, the pilot "used a forward slip technique to land, then kicked the nose around, and made what appeared to be a good landing." The left main landing gear then collapsed. The pilot reported that he held "hard right aileron to keep the left wing up as the airplane slid off to the left side of the runway." The airplane continued down into a ravine, and the propeller dug into the ground as the airplane made a 180-degree turn and came to rest upright.
On January 9, 2005, approximately 1230 central standard time, a home-built Reinhart GP-4 single-engine airplane, N233CR, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control during landing at the Bourland Field Airport (50F), near Fort Worth, Texas. The private pilot, sole occupant and owner of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from 50F, approximately 1130. In a written statement, the 742-hour private pilot reported that during his departure from 50F, the wind was from approximately 200 degrees at 10 knots. When he returned about an hour later, the wind had shifted to approximately 250-260 degrees at 15-20 knots with gusts. The pilot made two attempts at a crosswind landing on runway 17, each time striking a runway light with the airplane and initiating a go-around. The pilot reported that the right flap was damaged during the first attempt, and the landing gear retract link was damaged during the second landing attempt. During the third landing attempt, the pilot "used a forward slip technique to land, then kicked the nose around, and made what appeared to be a good landing," but the left main landing gear collapsed, and the pilot "held hard right aileron to keep the left wing up as the airplane slid off to the left side of the runway." The airplane continued down into a ravine, and the propeller dug into the ground as the airplane made a 180-degree turn and came to rest upright. According to the pilot and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident site, aircraft hangars were located on the northwest corner of the field, adjacent to the departure end of runway 17. The pilot reported that turbulence was created by the wind contacting these hangars. The FAA inspector reported structural damage to the spar of the horizontal stabilizer and damage to the right flap. All three of the landing gear collapsed, and there were holes in the engine cowling and fuselage of the airplane. At 1225, the automated weather observing system at the Granbury Municipal Airport (GDJ), near Granbury, Texas, located approximately 14 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, reported wind from 200 degrees at 15 knots, clear skies, 10 statute miles visibility, temperature 70 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 54 degrees Fahrenheit, and an barometric pressure setting of 30.22 inches of Mercury.
The pilot's failure to compensate for the prevailing crosswind. A contributing factor was the crosswind.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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