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GAA16CA492

2016-09-10 · Sidney, Montana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SDY

Current FAA registration · N8335A

Make / Model
CESSNA 170B
Engine
CONT MOTOR C145 SERIES (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19560207
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB6687

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and the flight instructor’s inability to recover the airplane, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that during the instructional flight in a tailwheel equipped airplane, the student pilot bounced the landing. The airplane bounced off the grass airstrip and the flight instructor reported that he took the flight controls, but the airplane drifted to the left and into a drainage ditch. The flight instructor reported that he corrected with right rudder application to ease the airplane out of the ditch, but the left landing gear tire deflated and the left wing and the tail struck the ground. The airplane yawed to the left, the instructor corrected the yaw and the airplane rolled onto the runway and stopped. The left wing, left aileron and the elevator sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies prior to landing in the ditch that would have prevented normal flight operation. The flight instructor reported that, during the instructional flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, the student pilot bounced the landing. The airplane bounced off the grass airstrip, and the flight instructor took the flight controls, but the airplane drifted to the left and into a drainage ditch. The flight instructor reported that he corrected with right rudder application to ease the airplane out of the ditch, but the left landing gear tire deflated, and the left wing and the tail struck the ground. The airplane yawed to the left, the instructor corrected the yaw, and the airplane rolled onto the runway and stopped. The left wing, left aileron, and the elevator sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented 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-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - 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_GAA16CA492.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