Event CEN21LA458

Factual narrative

The private pilot of the personal flight stated that during a visual approach to a grass runway, he noticed the airplane ground speed was higher than usual. He increased the wing flap setting to slow the airplane and maneuvered the airplane to avoid obstructions on and to the side of the glide path; he said he could have performed a go-around but decided to continue the approach. He then realized that attempts to slow the airplane were not realized due to a tailwind. The airplane touched down for landing on the runway and bounced twice but did not slow. The airplane overran the runway and impacted a fence and trees at the departure end of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage that included damage to the left wing. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane. The pilot reported that he was performing a a visual approach to a grass runway, when he noticed the airplane’s ground speed was higher than usual. He increased the wing flap setting to slow the airplane and maneuvered the airplane to avoid obstructions on and to the side of the glide path, but then he realized that attempts to slow the airplane were not realized due to a tailwind. The airplane touched down on the runway and bounced twice but did not slow. The airplane overran the runway and impacted a fence and trees at the departure end. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane to the north with wind light and variable from 080o and gusting to 10 knots. The pilot reported that he could have performed a go-around but decided to continue the approach. 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).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot