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GAA18CA011

2017-10-12 · Cedartown, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 4A4

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot in the experimental, tailwheel-equipped airplane, when the tailwheel touched down during the landing roll, the right wing lifted, and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane exited the left side of the runway and continued about 100ft down sloping terrain where it came to rest upright. The pilot and passenger exited the airplane, and noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The pilot, using a fire extinguisher from the airplane, sprayed the area of the smoke. However, the airplane continued smoking. The airplane was destroyed by a post-crash fire The pilot reported that the wind was calm at the time of the accident. The METAR nearest the accident airport, reported the same. 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 in the experimental, tailwheel-equipped airplane, when the tailwheel touched down during the landing roll, the right wing lifted, and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane exited the left side of the runway and continued about 100 ft down sloping terrain where it came to rest upright. The pilot and passenger exited the airplane and noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The pilot used a fire extinguisher from the airplane to spray the area of the smoke. However, the airplane continued smoking. The airplane was destroyed by a postcrash fire. The pilot reported that the wind was calm at the time of the accident. The METAR nearest to the accident airport reported the same. 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
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA18CA011.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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