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GAA17CA140

2017-02-16 · Burlington, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BUY

Current FAA registration · N381MG

Make / Model
CESSNA 172M
Year of manufacture
1975 · 42 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19750906
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4601B

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain the runway heading during an attempted go-around in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during landing in a gusting crosswind, following the main wheels touching down, and as the nose wheel was about to touch down, the airplane "abruptly lifted into the air." He immediately added full power to go-around, but the airplane drifted to the left off the runway surface and impacted an embankment. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observing station at the accident airport, about the time of the accident, recorded wind 270° at 16 knots, gusting to 31 knots. A peak wind of 260° at 31 knots was recorded about 5 minutes before the accident. The airplane landed on runway 24. The pilot reported that, during landing in a gusting crosswind, following the main wheels touching down and as the nosewheel was about to touch down, the airplane "abruptly lifted into the air." He immediately added full power to go-around, but the airplane drifted to the left off the runway surface and impacted an embankment. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observing station at the accident airport, about the time of the accident, recorded wind from 270° at 16 knots, gusting to 31 knots. A peak wind of 260° at 31 knots was recorded about 5 minutes before the accident. The airplane landed on runway 24. 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-Heading/course-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Climb rate-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA17CA140.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, go-around). All research papers