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GAA15CA070

2015-04-04 · Cornelia, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AJR

Current FAA registration · N7153Z

Make / Model
PIPER PA-18-150
Year of manufacture
1965 · 50 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A99179

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that just as he was going to touch down on the runway, the airplane wanted to turn to the left, he applied right rudder but it was not affective. He applied full power and attempted to abort the landing but the airplane would not gain lift. The airplane veered left off the runway and into the grass and was traveling towards a ditch. He applied one notch of flaps in an attempt to clear the ditch; subsequently the airplanes main wheels came in contact with the ditch first and stopped immediately, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that just as he was going to touch down on the runway, the airplane wanted to turn to the left, he applied right rudder but it was not affective. He applied full power and attempted to abort the landing but the airplane would not gain lift. The airplane veered left off the runway and into the grass and was traveling towards a ditch. He applied one notch of flaps in an attempt to clear the ditch; subsequently the airplanes main wheels came in contact with the ditch first and stopped immediately, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA070.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers