Event ERA12CA344

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he was participating in a "bean bag drop" competition at the airfield. He was flying from the left seat while his right-seat passenger was to drop the bean bag onto the target. He overflew the runway at 70 feet above the ground and banked right to see where the bean bag landed. There was a left-to-right crosswind that pushed him further right than anticipated. As he approached tall trees at the edge of the airfield, he banked further right to avoid them. The airplane stalled and continued to sink until it collided with the ground. Structural damage to the fuselage and wings resulted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that he was participating in a "bean bag drop" competition at the airfield. He was flying from the left seat while his right-seat passenger was to drop the bean bag onto the target. He overflew the runway at 70 feet above the ground and banked right to see where the bean bag landed. There was a left-to-right crosswind that pushed him farther right than anticipated. As the airplane approached tall trees at the edge of the airfield, the pilot banked further right to avoid them. The airplane stalled, descended, and collided with the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Capability exceeded - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C