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GAA17CA576

2017-08-30 · Montgomery, New York, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MGJ

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of directional control during the takeoff roll, which resulted in impact with visual approach slope indicator lights.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot in the tailwheel equipped, experimental amateur-built airplane, during the takeoff roll on runway 3, there was a slight crosswind and he was unable to maintain directional control of the airplane, possibly due to "wind shear." The airplane exited the left side of the runway and impacted the visual approach slope indicator (VASI) lights. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage bulkhead and the vertical stabilizer. According to the METAR at the accident airport, about the time of the accident, the wind was variable at 3kts, the visibility was greater than 10 statute miles, and there were Few clouds at 3,800ft. The temperature was 72°F and the dew point was 57°F. Wind shear was not reported. 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 of the tailwheel-equipped, experimental amateur-built airplane, during the takeoff roll on runway 3, there was a slight crosswind and he was unable to maintain directional control of the airplane, possibly due to wind shear. The airplane exited the left side of the runway and impacted the visual approach slope indicator lights. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage bulkhead and the vertical stabilizer. According to the METAR at the accident airport, about the time of the accident, the wind was variable at 3kts, the visibility was greater than 10 statute miles, and there were few clouds at 3,800ft. The temperature was 72°F and the dew point was 57°F. Wind shear was not reported. 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

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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Runway/taxi/approach light-Contributed to outcome - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA17CA576.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear). All research papers