NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA18CA078
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s decision to abort the takeoff following a touch-and-go landing with too little runway remaining, which resulted in a runway overrun.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, during takeoff following a touch-and-go landing, the engine gauge readings appeared normal, the airplane lifted off the ground about 65 knots, and he applied nose down pressure to stay in ground effect. The pilot reported that the airplane was not showing indications of a climb nor was the airspeed increasing, so he lowered the nose further. He then attempted to climb by pulling back on the yoke and alternately build airspeed by lowering the nose multiple times with negative results. The pilot then reduced power to abort the takeoff. The airplane landed on the remaining runway, overran the end of the runway, and impacted a fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The passenger in the right seat provided a video showing the touch-and-go landing from the right seat looking forward through the windscreen. The instrument panel cannot be seen. During the landing, the airplane touched down about 200 feet beyond the approach end of the 3,004 ft. long runway. The pilot applied takeoff power, the airplane lifted off the runway, and continued in level flight in ground effect. The pitch attitude did not appear excessive, the stall warning horn was not audible, and there were no abnormal sounds from the engine. The pilot then reduced power to abort the takeoff. The airplane touched down near the departure end of the runway, and the camera panned downward for the remainder of the video. The pilot reported that, during takeoff following a touch-and-go landing, the engine gauge readings appeared normal, the airplane lifted off the ground about 65 knots, and he applied nose-down pressure to stay in ground effect. The pilot reported that the airplane was not climbing nor was the airspeed increasing, so he lowered the nose further. He then attempted to climb by pulling back on the yoke and alternately building airspeed by lowering the nose multiple times with negative results. The pilot then reduced power to abort the takeoff. The airplane landed on the remaining runway, overran the end of the runway, and impacted a fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The passenger in the right seat provided a video showing the touch-and-go landing from the right seat looking forward through the windscreen. The instrument panel cannot be seen. During the landing, the airplane touched down about 200 ft beyond the approach end of the 3,004 ft-long runway. The pilot applied takeoff power, the airplane lifted off the runway, and continued in level flight in ground effect. The pitch attitude did not appear excessive, the stall warning horn was not audible, and there were no abnormal sounds from the engine. The pilot then reduced power to abort the takeoff. The airplane touched down near the departure end of the runway, and the camera panned downward for the remainder of the video. 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-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Takeoff distance-Capability exceeded - C
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Contributed to outcome
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2017_GAA18CA078.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
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