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ERA14CA243

2014-05-09 · Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GKJ

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an attempted go around in gusty wind conditions which resulted in a collision with terrain.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he deviated to a nearby airport after discovering that the winds at his intended destination were too strong. While on short final the airplane encountered a wind gust from the left and the pilot initiated a go around. The wind gust then went away and the pilot elected to abort the go around and land. After touchdown the pilot reduced power to idle and applied the brakes. Once the airplane slowed to 40 mph it was hit by a "perpendicular gust", the left wing lifted and the airplane began a mild swerve to the left side of the runway. The pilot applied full aileron deflection and full right rudder inputs; however, he was unable to maintain directional control. The pilot then applied full power to initiate another go around. During the transition from ground roll to takeoff the right gear collapsed and the right wingtip and propeller impacted the ground resulting in substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that could have precluded normal operation. According to the pilot, he deviated to a nearby airport after discovering that the winds at his intended destination were too strong. While on short final the airplane encountered a wind gust from the left and the pilot initiated a go around. The wind gust then went away and the pilot elected to abort the go around and land. After touchdown the pilot reduced power to idle and applied the brakes. Once the airplane slowed to 40 mph it was hit by a "perpendicular gust", the left wing lifted and the airplane began a mild swerve to the left side of the runway. The pilot applied full aileron deflection and full right rudder inputs; however, he was unable to maintain directional control. The pilot then applied full power to initiate another go around. During the transition from ground roll to takeoff the right gear collapsed and the right wingtip and propeller impacted the ground resulting in substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that could have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_ERA14CA243.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.