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GAA18CA023

2017-10-24 · Tacoma, Washington, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TIW

Current FAA registration · N19EC

Make / Model
CESSNA A185E
Year of manufacture
1967 · 50 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19670929
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A16639

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of directional control during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot in the tailwheel-equipped, high performance airplane, he performed a three-point landing about 70 miles per hour. During the landing roll on runway 35, the airplane veered to the right. The pilot reported that he applied left rudder and left aileron to keep the airplane on the runway. However, the airplane exited the right side of the runway, and the airplane ground looped to the right, and the left wing and left elevator struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing spar, ribs, aileron and the left elevator. The METAR at the accident airport, reported that about the time of the accident, the wind was from 010° at 7kts. The pilot reported that the valve stem from the left main landing gear tire failed causing the loss of control. According to the pilot in the tailwheel-equipped, high-performance airplane, he performed a three-point landing about 70 mph. During the landing roll, the airplane veered to the right. The pilot reported that he applied left rudder and left aileron to keep the airplane on the runway. However, the airplane exited the right side of the runway and then ground looped to the right, and the left wing and left elevator struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing spar, ribs, aileron, and the left elevator. The METAR at the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 010° at 7 knots. The pilot reported that the valve stem from the left main landing gear tire failed, causing the loss of control. 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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA18CA023.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 (loss of control). All research papers