Amateur-built Tailwind accident near Lyndon, Kansas, April 27, 2005
On April 27, 2005 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Tailwind, registered N74849, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lyndon, Kansas (Pomona Lake Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot improper recovery from a bounced landing, and his inadequate compensation for a tailwind, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent collision with the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's selection of a wrong runway, the tailwind, trees, and the pond.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 2005 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lyndon, Kansas · Pomona Lake Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Tailwind
- Registration
- N74849 · no longer on the register · serial WH-1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amateur-built experimental airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over after an aborted landing on runway 16. The pilot reported that he bounced the airplane during landing and he attempted to abort the landing. When he "throttled up to go around," the left wing "dropped" and the crosswind blew the airplane to the left of the runway. He saw trees and a pond ahead so he shut down the engine. The airplane hit on the landing gear but the airplane flipped over during the landing roll. The pilot reported that he had a total of 407 flight hours and 1.7 hours in make and model. The pilot reported the winds were from 270 degrees. The observed winds at the Philip Billard Municipal Airport (TOP), Topeka, Kansas, about 30 nautical miles north of 39K, were 290 degrees at 8 knots.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 407 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,400 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 39K Lyndon KS at 10:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N74849 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.