NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA107
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's and flight instructor's improper brake application during the landing roll. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's failure to make a positive transfer of controls.
Factual narrative
The rated pilot and flight instructor were practicing off airport landings in unimproved areas in the tailwheel equipped airplane. After two evaluation passes, the pilot landed. The pilot reported that during the rollout the airplane had oscillations around the lateral axis and the pilot applied the brakes. The flight instructor also applied brake pressure during the landing roll. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to right wing strut, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported the accident may have been avoidable with better communication and transfer of controls with the flight instructor. The rated pilot and flight instructor were practicing off airport landings in unimproved areas in the tailwheel equipped airplane. After two evaluation passes, the pilot landed. The pilot reported that during the rollout the airplane had oscillations around the lateral axis and the pilot applied the brakes. The flight instructor also applied brake pressure during the landing roll. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to right wing strut, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported the accident may have been avoidable with better communication and transfer of controls with the flight instructor. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Surface speed/braking-Incorrect use/operation - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Instructor/check pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
- F Personnel issues-Task performance-Communication (personnel)-Lack of communication-Instructor/check pilot - F
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_GAA15CA107.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Contractor Report (CR)
Icing Physics Studies Using the 3D SIDRM Test Article: 2023 Icing Tests Analysis
In-flight icing is an important safety issue and is a factor that affects aircraft design and performance. Newer regulations are driving a need for improvements in airframe and engine icing simulation…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning for UAV-Assisted 5G Network Slicing: A Comparative Study of MAPPO, MADDPG, and MADQN
The growing demand for robust, scalable wireless networks in the 5G-and-beyond era has led to the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile base stations to enhance coverage in dense urb…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Mathematical Model on the Temporal Dynamics of Aviation Competitive Pricing
This study investigates the competitive dynamics of airport pricing using U.S. airport data to validate the findings. It employs linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equation models to analyze t…
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – March 2025
This NASA Icing Update was prepared for presentation to the SAE International AC-9C Inflight Icing Technology Committee. This update includes the following topics: planned Rotational Icing Scaling tes…
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
An energy-stable phase-field model for droplet icing simulations
A phase-field model for three-phase flows is established by combining the Navier-Stokes (NS) and the energy equations, with the Allen-Cahn (AC) and Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equations and is demonstrated ana…
- NASA NTRS 2024 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – Oct 2024
This presentation provides a status update on select NASA icing research activities for the SAE AC-9C Icing Technical Committee Meeting on Oct 21, 2024.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗