Event GAA17CA150

Factual narrative

The pilot reported the during an instrument meteorological condition flight, he elected to accomplish an area navigation approach. He reported that he descended to his minimum descent altitude of 800 feet, decreased the airspeed and began looking outside the cockpit for the runway. He recalled that the visibility was ¾ of a mile and about 20 seconds later the airplane struck tree tops. The pilot immediately executed the missed approach procedure and made an approach at an alternate airport. The right 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 pilot reported that, during an instrument meteorological conditions flight, he chose to accomplish an area navigation approach. He reported that he descended to his minimum descent altitude of 800 ft, decreased the airspeed, and began looking outside the cockpit for the runway. He recalled that the visibility was 3/4 mile, and that, about 20 seconds later, the airplane struck tree tops. The pilot immediately executed the missed approach procedure and made an approach to an alternate airport. The right 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. 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-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Effect on equipment - C
• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot - C