The pilot was landing the de Havilland DHC 6 Twin Otter in gusty crosswind conditions following a parachute jump flight, reporting that the gusty conditions had persisted for the previous 10 skydiving flights that day.
During the landing roll, when the nose wheel touched down at the airport in Fentress, Texas, the airplane became “unstable” and veered to the left.
He applied right rudder and added power to abort the landing, but the airplane departed the runway to the left and the left wing hit a tree.
The airplane spun 180° degrees to the left and came to rest after hitting the tree.The left wing was substantially damaged.
The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the aborted landing in gusty crosswind conditions, which resulted in a runway excursion and a collision with a tree.
NTSB Identification: GAA16CA184
This April 2016 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.
If the wind was bad enough to wreck a Twin Otter, what the heck were they doing
dropping skydivers?