Amateur-built GP-4 accident near Fort Worth, Texas, January 9, 2005
On January 9, 2005 at about 6:30 pm local time, a amateur-built GP-4, registered N233CR, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas (Bourland Field 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's failure to compensate for the prevailing crosswind. A contributing factor was the crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 9, 2005 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Worth, Texas · Bourland Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GP-4
- Registration
- N233CR · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 742-hour private pilot reported that during his departure from runway 17, the wind was from approximately 200 degrees at 10 knots. When he returned about an hour later, the wind had shifted to approximately 250-260 degrees at 15-20 knots with gusts. The pilot made two attempts at a crosswind landing on runway 17, each time striking a runway light with the airplane and initiating a go-around. The pilot reported that the right flap was damaged during the first attempt, and the landing gear retract link was damaged during the second landing attempt. During the third landing attempt, the pilot "used a forward slip technique to land, then kicked the nose around, and made what appeared to be a good landing." The left main landing gear then collapsed. The pilot reported that he held "hard right aileron to keep the left wing up as the airplane slid off to the left side of the runway." The airplane continued down into a ravine, and the propeller dug into the ground as the airplane made a 180-degree turn and came to rest upright.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 742 hours in all; 63 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: January 17, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 4, 2004; 19.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-AIB6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 50F Fort Worth TX at 5:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 4,092 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DFW05CA050.