Event GAA18CA007

Factual narrative

The pilot of the airplane reported that, while on an instrument flight rules approach to land in instrument meteorological conditions at night, he was "a little late descending" on the glide slope. He added that, during the approach, he increased the descent rate and also became "a little right of course". He noticed approach lights, but became "fixated" on the instruments while attempting to correct for being off course. Subsequently, the airplane struck the tops of trees and he immediately pulled up. He landed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, empennage and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system at the accident airport reported, about the time of the accident, that the wind was from 140° at 5 knots, visibility ¾ statute mile, light rain, clouds overcast at 200 ft. The pilot landed on runway 9, flying the RNAV (GPS) runway 9 approach. The pilot of the airplane reported that, while on an instrument flight rules approach to land in instrument meteorological conditions at night, he was "a little late descending" on the glideslope. He added that, during the approach, he increased the descent rate and became "a little right of course." He noticed approach lights but became "fixated" on the instruments while attempting to correct for being off course. Subsequently, the airplane struck the tops of trees, and he immediately pulled up. He landed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, empennage, and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system at the accident airport reported, about the time of the accident, that the wind was from 140° at 5 knots, visibility 3/4 statute mile, light rain, and clouds overcast at 200 ft. The pilot landed on runway 9 and flew the RNAV GPS runway 9 approach.     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-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Effect on operation - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Effect on personnel