Event GAA18CA120

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during landing, she became distracted by another airplane performing a touch-and-go and, upon touchdown, her airplane veered to the right. She added full power to go around, but the airplane continued to the right as it became airborne and the right wing struck a parked helicopter. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the tops of bushes and came to rest inverted in an adjacent riverbed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, during landing, she became distracted by another airplane performing a touch-and-go, and upon touchdown, the airplane veered to the right. She added full power to go around, but the airplane continued to the right as it became airborne, and the right wing struck a parked helicopter. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the tops of bushes and came to rest inverted in an adjacent riverbed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Aircraft-Effect on operation - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-(general)-Contributed to outcome