Event CEN14CA512

Factual narrative

During a cross country flight, the weather began to deteriorate. The pilot elected to turn back; however, the weather continued to deteriorate and the pilot elected to perform a forced landing to a dirt road. The pilot stated that it was raining and there was lightening all around. During the forced landing the airplane started to sink and hit the ground hard. The pilot stated that the left main landing gear was bent aft and the left wingtip hit the ground. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a cross country flight, the weather began to deteriorate. The pilot elected to turn back; however, the weather continued to deteriorate and the pilot elected to perform a forced landing to a dirt road. The pilot stated that it was raining and there was lightening all around. During the forced landing the airplane started to sink and hit the ground hard. The pilot stated that the left main landing gear was bent aft and the left wingtip hit the ground. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-(general)-Decision related to condition
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent rate-Not attained/maintained - C