Fairchild 24R N81210

Summary

On 9 July 2025 at about 20:49 local time, a Fairchild 24R registered N81210 was involved in an accident near Greeley, Colorado, United States. 3 people were 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

9 July 2025 at 20:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Greeley, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Greeley-Weld County (GXY)

Coordinates

40.4290, -104.6400

Aircraft

Fairchild 24R

Registration

N81210

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA245

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inability to maintain directional control during landing due to excessive wear in the tailwheel steering assembly.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the landing as the tailwheel touched down on the runway, the tailwheel began to shimmy, and the airplane drifted left of the centerline. The left seat pilot attempted to maintain control, and the right seat pilot twice made minor inputs to maintain the centerline and “lifted the tailwheel” to alleviate the shimmy. When the tailwheel touched down a third time and the airplane’s full weight was placed on the tailwheel, the airplane veered sharply to the left. Full application of the right rudder did not correct the left turn, and the airplane ground looped. Substantial damage was sustained to the airplane’s left wing. A postaccident examination of the airplane found that the steering arm of the tailwheel assembly had been contacting tail structure in a location that was only visible when the tailwheel suspension and steering assembly had been removed and not during the routine annual inspection. It is likely that the airplane’s weight load on the tailwheel compressed the area enough due to excessive wear to restrict steering and rudder control during the landing. The airplane had accumulated 2 hours of flight since the most recent annual inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.