NTSB GAA15CA050 — 2015-04-17 · DEER LODGE, Montana, United States

Aircraft involved

N7374W Piper PA 28-180 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, resulting in a loss of control and collision with terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing flare he began to porpoise, on the second porpoise he encountered what he believed was a crosswind. He added full power to abort the landing, and subsequently the airplane impacted a ditch, which resulted in the right landing gear and nose wheel being separated from the airplane and substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that during the landing flare he began to porpoise, on the second porpoise he encountered what he believed was a crosswind. He added full power to abort the landing, and subsequently the airplane impacted a ditch, which resulted in the right landing gear and nose wheel being separated from the airplane and substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would 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-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA050.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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