Skip to content

GAA16CA167

2016-03-29 · Clarksville, Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport W63

N601BZ has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (GIPPSLAND GA-8), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff, which resulted in the airplane drifting to the left of the runway and impacting trees.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during takeoff the airplane began to drift to the left immediately after rotation. The pilot further reported that he applied right aileron, but the drift continued and the airplane's left main landing gear struck a tree within a tree line about 100 feet to the left of the runway. After the impact, the airplane sank further into the trees and came to rest slightly nose high and left wing down. The fuselage, both wings, and horizontal stabilizer were substantially damaged. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that during takeoff the airplane began to drift to the left immediately after rotation. The pilot further reported that he applied right aileron, but the drift continued and the airplane's left main landing gear struck a tree within a tree line about 100 feet to the left of the runway. After the impact, the airplane sank further into the trees and came to rest slightly nose high and left wing down. The fuselage, both wings, and horizontal stabilizer were substantially damaged. The pilot did not report any 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 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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA167.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.