NTSB ERA23LA019 — 2022-10-14 · Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Current FAA registration · N26944

Make / Model: GULFSTREAM AMERICAN AA-5A
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19790316
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A2A36D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N26944 GULFSTREAM AMERICAN CORP AA-5A None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s loss of directional control on landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was on his first solo flight and was attempting to land. Just before touch down, a gust of wind pushed the airplane off the left side of the runway, and it struck a ditch. Subsequently, the left horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported that the airplane had no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Response/compensation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA23LA019.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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