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GAA15CA150

2015-06-30 · Rio Vista, California, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport O88

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's use of improper procedures during an aborted landing, resulting in a runway excursion and a collision with a canal.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing touch down the airplane porpoised, and he elected to abort the landing. The flight instructor stated that the pilot raised the flaps, retracted the landing gear, and pulled back the power at the same time. The airplane descended and impacted the runway. The airplane then veered off the runway to the left and slid until the airplane impacted a canal, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. 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 touch down the airplane porpoised, and he elected to abort the landing. The flight instructor stated that the pilot raised the flaps, retracted the landing gear, and pulled back the power at the same time. The airplane descended and impacted the runway. The airplane then veered off the runway to the left and slid until the airplane impacted a canal, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. 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 Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Configuration-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-(general)-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA150.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

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