Event GAA17CA507

Factual narrative

The student pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane was practicing crosswind takeoffs and landings with the flight instructor. During the second landing, a few feet above the runway on short final, the nose of the airplane turned sharply to the left. The student reported that his flight instructor yelled a command, took over the controls, and added full power. The flight instructor reported that after he took the flight controls, he attempted to go-around, but was unsuccessful. The airplane continued to the left, through low brush, and down an embankment. The tailwheel struck the edge of the embankment, then nosed over. Both wings and wing struts sustained substantial damage. The student pilot and flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A review of recorded data from the automated weather observation station, located about 7 miles north of the accident airport, reported that about 8 minutes after the accident the wind was from 310° at 11 knots. The airplane landed on runway 2. The student pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane was practicing crosswind takeoffs and landings with the flight instructor. During the second landing, a few feet above the runway on short final, the airplane's nose turned sharply to the left. The student reported that his flight instructor yelled a command, took over the controls, and added full power. The flight instructor reported that, after he took the flight controls, he attempted to go around but was unsuccessful. The airplane continued to the left through low brush and down an embankment. The tailwheel struck the edge of the embankment, and the airplane then nosed over. Both wings and wing struts sustained substantial damage. The student pilot and flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. An automated weather observation station located about 7 miles north of the accident airport reported that, about 8 minutes after the accident, the wind was from 310° at 11 knots. The airplane landed on runway 2. 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 Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation