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GAA17CA273

2017-05-05 · Wellington, Kansas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EGT

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare and exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the landing, "about 4-6 ft." above the runway, the airspeed decreased and the airplane aerodynamically stalled. He added that the airplane landed hard, veered off the runway to the right, and came to rest with the nose down. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during the landing, "about 4-6 ft" above the runway, the airspeed decreased, and the airplane aerodynamically stalled. He added that the airplane landed hard, veered off the runway to the right, and came to rest with the nose down. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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 Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA17CA273.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 (stall). All research papers