NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA17CA274
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s loss of runway visibility during landing in rain, which resulted in the pilot’s loss of situational awareness and subsequent loss of airplane control.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he made an approach to a grass airstrip in light rain conditions with mist. During the landing flair, the airplane encountered a rain shower and the pilot's visibility was obscured. The pilot commenced the landing but he lost visibility of the runway. The airplane touched down left of the runway centerline and veered off the left side of the runway. He recalled that, "By the time I was aware of my position it was not possible to correct," and the airplane impacted the trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the both wing spars and engine mounts. 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 he made an approach to a grass airstrip in light rain conditions with mist. During the landing flare, the airplane encountered a rain shower, and the pilot's visibility was obscured. The pilot began the landing, but he lost sight of the runway. The airplane touched down left of the runway centerline and veered off the left side of the runway. He recalled that "by the time I was aware of my position it was not possible to correct," and the airplane impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wing spars and engine mounts. 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 Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Rain-Effect on personnel - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Psychological-Perception/orientation/illusion-Situational awareness-Pilot - C
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Contributed to outcome
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2017_GAA17CA274.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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