According to the pilot, after landing in Colebrook, N.H., a 180° turn was required to back taxi on the runway.
During the turn, the Cessna 140’s main landing gear encountered soft snow at the edge of the runway, and began to sink further into the snow.He increased engine power to return the plane to the center of the runway, however, the tail began to rise and the strong quartering tailwind continued to nose the airplane over, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing strut and vertical stabilizer.
The pilot reported the wind at the time of the accident was approximately 220° at 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s decision to power out of soft snow with a gusty quartering tailwind, which resulted in the tail rising and the plane nosing over.
NTSB Identification: ERA14CA195
This April 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
