diff --git a/lib/ftl/ftl_core.c b/lib/ftl/ftl_core.c
index c1ff799d8..5f3689ecc 100644
--- a/lib/ftl/ftl_core.c
+++ b/lib/ftl/ftl_core.c
@@ -1468,7 +1468,11 @@ ftl_io_child_write_cb(struct ftl_io *io, void *ctx, int status)
 
 	chunk->busy = false;
 	chunk->write_offset += io->lbk_cnt;
-	wptr->num_outstanding--;
+
+	/* If some other write on the same band failed the write pointer would already be freed */
+	if (spdk_likely(wptr)) {
+		wptr->num_outstanding--;
+	}
 }
 
 static int