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GAA17CA034

2016-10-23 · Tracy, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 1Q4

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s unstabilized approach and delayed application of full throttle for a go-around, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the high performance airplane reported that on his third simulated forced landing, while turning left base to final in a slip, he realized that the airplane was too low, and not aligned with the runway. He applied full throttle to go-around. The airplane responded suddenly by changing attitude, but continued to descend and impacted terrain and the airport perimeter fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot further reported that the slow airspeed coupled with the unexpected high torque from advancing the throttle during an uncoordinated left turn were factors in the accident. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of the high-performance airplane reported that, on his third simulated forced landing, while turning left base to final in a slip, he realized that the airplane was too low and not aligned with the runway. He applied full throttle to go around. The airplane responded suddenly by changing attitude but continued to descend and impacted terrain and the airport perimeter fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot further reported that the slow airspeed coupled with the unexpected high torque from advancing the throttle during an uncoordinated left turn were factors in the accident. The pilot reported no preaccident 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-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA17CA034.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 (go-around, unstabilized approach). All research papers