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GAA16CA265

2016-05-30 · Laurel, Montana, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 6S8

Current FAA registration · N41553

Make / Model
PIPER PA-18-150
Year of manufacture
1993 · 23 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19930616
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4E9D6

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of directional control during the landing touchdown, resulting in a runway excursion and substantial damage to the both wings.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, during the landing touchdown, a gust of wind lifted the airplane's right wing and forced the airplane to the left side of runway 32. The pilot reported that he overcompensated with right rudder and the airplane exited the right side of the runway. The left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions with any portion of the airplane that would have prevented normal flight operations. The meteorological aerodrome report at the nearest weather reporting facility at the time of the accident was about 11 miles northeast reported: 310353Z 07005KTS 10SM FEW075 FEW150 SCT200 11/02 A3013 RMK AO2 According to the pilot, during the landing touchdown, a gust of wind lifted the airplane's right wing and forced the airplane to the left side of runway 32. The pilot reported that he overcompensated with right rudder and the airplane exited the right side of the runway. The left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions with any portion of the airplane that would have prevented normal flight operations. The meteorological aerodrome report at the nearest weather reporting facility at the time of the accident was about 11 miles northeast reported: 310353Z 07005KTS 10SM FEW075 FEW150 SCT200 11/02 A3013 RMK AO2 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-Gusts-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA265.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.

Related research

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