Event GAA17CA432

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he checked the wind sock at the airpark and made left traffic for a landing on the turf surface of runway 25. As the airplane touched down, it encountered a gust of wind from the left. The right-wing struck the ground, followed by the left-wing and the propeller striking the ground. The nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright, on the main landing gear and the fuselage. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right and left-wing spars. The pilot reported the wind was from 270 degrees at 7 knots, unknown if it was gusting. The nearest METAR, 10 miles northwest of the airpark, reported that about the time of the accident the wind was variable at 3 knots, the ceiling was overcast at 2,100 feet and the visibility was greater than 10 statute miles. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. According to the pilot, he checked the wind sock at the airpark and made left traffic for a landing on the turf runway. As the airplane touched down, it encountered a wind gust from the left. The right wing struck the ground, followed by the left wing and the propeller. The nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright on the main landing gear and the fuselage. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right- and left-wing spars. The pilot reported the wind was from 270° at 7 knots. The nearest METAR, 10 miles northwest of the airpark, reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was variable at 3 knots, the ceiling was overcast at 2,100 ft, and the visibility was greater than 10 statute miles. 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-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation