GAA16CA093
2016-01-02 · Newton, Iowa, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport TNU
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during the takeoff, resulting in a runway excursion, and airplane nose over.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, his intent was to perform a touch and go landing on a runway with patches of snow extending from the approach end to the departure end. The pilot reported that the touchdown and landing roll were uneventful. He reported that as he aborted the landing and configured the airplane for takeoff, he retracted the flaps, advanced the throttle and applied right rudder. He recalled that when he advanced the throttle, the airplane immediately made a sharp left turn, exited the runway to the left, and impacted the residual snow that was previously cleared from the runway. The airplane nosed over and the pilot exited the runway under his own power. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation. According to the pilot, his intent was to perform a touch and go landing on a runway with patches of snow extending from the approach end to the departure end. The pilot reported that the touchdown and landing roll were uneventful. He reported that as he aborted the landing and configured the airplane for takeoff, he retracted the flaps, advanced the throttle and applied right rudder. He recalled that when he advanced the throttle, the airplane immediately made a sharp left turn, exited the runway to the left, and impacted the residual snow that was previously cleared from the runway. The airplane nosed over and the pilot exited the runway under his own power. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight 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
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Snowy/icy-Decision related to condition
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Snow/ice-Effect on equipment
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Snow/slush/ice covered-Decision related to condition
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2016_GAA16CA093.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.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
- NTSB CAROL Agency ↗
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers
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- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM) Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article Runway Excursion — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary runway excursion review — RE-OE (overruns) + RE-LO (lateral). Risk drivers: long landing, high approach speed, contaminated surface, tailwind, mis-set autobrakes.
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Republic Airline ERJ-175 runway excursion CLT, January 2018. Examines a low-energy runway excursion involving misuse of autobrakes + thrust reverser response after a high-crosswind landing on a contam…
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Presentation Uncovering Resilient Behavior in the Aviation Safety Reporting System Using Large Language Models
Resiliency is present in everyday life, both in system design and exhibited by the operators that function within these systems.