Event GAA15CA030

Factual narrative

The flight instructor, while giving instruction, stated he landed the tricycle landing gear equipped airplane at midfield in wind conditions that were reported from the SSW gusting to 23knots. Following a runway excursion on to soft terrain, the pilot said the airplane had come to a stop, undamaged, when "the nose wheel sank and the right wingtip contacted the dirt." Witnesses reported that the airplane touched down midfield, braked hard, and did not come to a complete stop prior to the airplanes right wing striking the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to flight that would have prevented normal operation. The flight instructor, while giving instruction, stated he landed the tricycle landing gear equipped airplane at midfield in wind conditions that were reported from the SSW gusting to 23knots. Following a runway excursion on to soft terrain, the pilot said the airplane had come to a stop, undamaged, when "the nose wheel sank and the right wingtip contacted the dirt." Witnesses reported that the airplane touched down midfield, braked hard, and did not come to a complete stop prior to the airplanes right wing striking the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to flight that would have prevented 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 Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Instructor/check pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Landing distance-Capability exceeded - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-(general)-Contributed to outcome