Event GAA15CA014

Factual narrative

During a cross country flight, the sport pilot attempted a soft field takeoff at an intermediate stop on the flight. On the takeoff roll the pilot applied full power and pulled the flight controls full aft. Subsequently, the nose pitched up, the pilot lost forward vision, and the airplane began drifting to the left. As the takeoff roll continued the pilot lost directional control and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. During the runway excursion, the airplane rolled downward into a ditch and came to rest after the propeller struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing spar. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and winds were calm at the time of the accident. During a cross country flight, the sport pilot attempted a soft field takeoff at an intermediate stop on the flight. On the takeoff roll the pilot applied full power and pulled the flight controls full aft. Subsequently, the nose pitched up, the pilot lost forward vision, and the airplane began drifting to the left. As the takeoff roll continued the pilot lost directional control and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. During the runway excursion, the airplane rolled downward into a ditch and came to rest after the propeller struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing spar. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and winds were calm at the time of the accident. 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 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-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven-Contributed to outcome