COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (WOWT-TV) – The NTSB has determined the cause of a small biplane crash at the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport in April. The National Transportation Safety Board, which did not travel to the scene, released its report this week on the crash, which occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10.

The board determined the probable cause of the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the plane during takeoff with a “direct gusting crosswind.” According to the report, winds were measured at 12 knots with gusts of up to 20 knots. The aircraft veered left off the left side of the runway during takeoff and over a beam, according to an earlier report from the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilot tried to correct the plane, but the left wing struck the ground, and it ended upside down.

The pilot, who was not injured, said they hadn’t noticed any mechanical failures or malfunctions prior to the crash. The De Haviland Tiger Moth plane, at two-seater owned by a Bellevue man, sustained “substantial” damage in the crash.