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GAA16CA050

2015-11-13 · Bowstring, Minnesota, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 9Y0

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot exceeded the critical angle of attack during takeoff which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with a wind sock and terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while taking off with 20 degrees of flaps from a grass airstrip, the airplane rotated about 50 knots and climbed to an altitude of about 80 feet above the ground. The pilot reported that the airplane "seemed" not to be "making" enough power to continue to climb. The pilot elected to abort the takeoff and land directly ahead on what remained of the landing strip. While landing the airplane impacted a wind sock located about 140 feet to the left of centerline and about 500 feet short of the departure end of the runway on the left edge of the landing strip, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. In a telephone interview with the NTSB Investigator-in-charge (IIC) the pilot stated that the stall warning horn was audible during the initial climb. The pilot reported that while taking off with 20 degrees of flaps from a grass airstrip, the airplane rotated about 50 knots and climbed to an altitude of about 80 feet above the ground. The pilot reported that the airplane "seemed" not to be "making" enough power to continue to climb. The pilot elected to abort the takeoff and land directly ahead on what remained of the landing strip. While landing the airplane impacted a wind sock located about 140 feet to the left of centerline and about 500 feet short of the departure end of the runway on the left edge of the landing strip, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. In a telephone interview with the NTSB Investigator-in-charge (IIC) the pilot stated that the stall warning horn was audible during the initial climb. 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-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Climb capability-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA16CA050.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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