ERA12CA496

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, the airplane touched down about halfway down the runway. The pilot’s intent was to perform a touch-and-go practice landing and takeoff. He applied takeoff power, retracted the flaps, and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot reported that he was unable to maintain directional control with aileron and rudder control inputs and elected to abort the takeoff. After he reduced power to idle the airplane departed the left side of the runway and continued approximately 100 yards before impacting a row of trees. A witness report corroborates the pilot’s landing description. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The examination did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. In a phone interview the accident the pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that precluded normal operation. According to the pilot, the airplane touched down about halfway down the runway. The pilot’s intent was to perform a touch-and-go practice landing and takeoff. He applied takeoff power, retracted the flaps, and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot reported that he was unable to maintain directional control with aileron and rudder control inputs and elected to abort the takeoff. After he reduced power to idle, the airplane departed the left side of the runway and continued approximately 100 yards before impacting a row of trees. A witness report corroborates the pilot’s landing description. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. In a phone interview the accident the pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that precluded normal operation of the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Contributed to outcome