Event GAA16CA206

Factual narrative

According to the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped biplane, during approach, the tower cleared him to land on the short runway which he refused because he felt rushed by inbound traffic. He reported that the tower acknowledged his refusal, and cleared him to land on the long runway which was runway 17R. The pilot reported that he landed on runway 17R with a quartering tail wind. However, during the pilot's approach, the wind that was reported by ATC to the pilot was 230 degrees true at 6 knots. He recalled that the airplane exited the right side of the runway, then ground looped to the right, and came to a stop nose down in a ditch and resting on the bottom left wing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower left wing spar. The meteorological aerodrome report (METAR) reported the wind as calm, 5 minutes before the accident. One hour before the accident, the METAR reported the wind as variable at 3 knots. One hour after the accident the METAR reported the wind as variable at 4 knots. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airplane prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation. According to the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped biplane, during approach, the tower cleared him to land on the short runway which he refused because he felt rushed by inbound traffic. He reported that the tower acknowledged his refusal, and cleared him to land on the long runway which was runway 17R. The pilot reported that he landed on runway 17R with a quartering tail wind. However, during the pilot's approach, the wind that was reported by ATC to the pilot was 230 degrees true at 6 knots. He recalled that the airplane exited the right side of the runway, then ground looped to the right, and came to a stop nose down in a ditch and resting on the bottom left wing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower left wing spar. The meteorological aerodrome report (METAR) reported the wind as calm, 5 minutes before the accident. One hour before the accident, the METAR reported the wind as variable at 3 knots. One hour after the accident the METAR reported the wind as variable at 4 knots. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airplane prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or 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