Skip to content

CEN24LA176

2024-05-01 · Watervliet, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 40C

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain control during the landing roll on a soft turf runway.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while landing on a turf runway in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, the main landing gear encountered soft terrain upon touchdown. The airplane rapidly decelerated and the tail rose. The pilot applied full aft pressure on the control stick but was unable to regain control before the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. During the nose over the airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and right wing strut. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Awareness of condition
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Effect on operation
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA176.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.