Cessna 182M N71074

Summary

On 31 December 2024 at about 20:15 local time, a Cessna 182M registered N71074 was involved in an accident near Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 December 2024 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Los Alamos (LAM)

Coordinates

35.8797, -106.2687

Aircraft

Cessna 182M

Registration

N71074

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Taos → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA076

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while landing in gusty crosswind conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while monitoring his destination airport’s automated weather report during a local flight he discovered that the wind had was initially from 180° at 7 knots but had increased to 11 knots with gusts to 18 knots. The pilot selected runway 27 for landing, and during final approach, encountered turbulence along with a fluctuation in airspeed of plus or minus 10 miles per hour, which he attributed to possible low-level wind shear. When about 50 ft above ground level, the pilot heard the stall warning horn while in a nose down attitude. The pilot stated that he focused on solely on airspeed and failed to maintain appropriate crosswind correction, as wind gusts pushed the airplane towards the left side of the runway. The pilot was unable to recover from the uncommanded movement and the airplane touched down on or near the left edge of the runway beyond the runway threshold. The airplane crossed the grassy area between the runway and taxiway, struck a taxiway curb and the nose landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.