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GAA16CA152

2016-03-13 · Chandler, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CHD

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion, a ground loop, and a collision with an airport sign.

Factual narrative

The pilot of a tailwheel equipped airplane reported that he encountered a crosswind during a wheel landing. During the landing roll, the pilot further reported that the airplane "drifted abruptly to the left" and he added right rudder, but the airplane departed the runway to the left. During the runway excursion, the airplane ground looped to the left and collided with an airport sign, the right main landing gear separated, and the right wing impacted the ground. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to right wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of a tailwheel equipped airplane reported that he encountered a crosswind during a wheel landing. During the landing roll, the pilot further reported that the airplane "drifted abruptly to the left" and he added right rudder, but the airplane departed the runway to the left. During the runway excursion, the airplane ground looped to the left and collided with an airport sign, the right main landing gear separated, and the right wing impacted the ground. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to right wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Ability to respond/compensate

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA152.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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