NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA18CA177
Registry · N6509L
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 152
Year of manufacture
1980 · 38 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19800423
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A89058
Registrant of record
SNOHOMISH FLYING SERVICE INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s decision to land with a tailwind and in his failure to maintain pitch control of the airplane in gusting wind conditions.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the landing flare, the airplane encountered a wind gust and the airplane pitched upward. During landing the airplane bounced twice and each time it touched down on the nose landing gear, and subsequently both wings struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and the right-wing spar. The pilot reported that the wind at the airport about the time of the accident was from 100° at 12kts, gusting to 30kts. The pilot landed on runway 33. The pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the airplane encountered a wind gust and the airplane pitched upward. During landing, the airplane bounced twice and each time it touched down on the nose landing gear, and subsequently both wings struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and the right-wing spar. The pilot reported that the wind at the airport about the time of the accident was from 100° at 12kts, gusting to 30kts. The pilot landed on runway 33. 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 Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation - C
- C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Effect on operation - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2018_GAA18CA177.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. 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 2021 · Poster
Sleep, Sleepiness, and Performance Across Three In-Flight Bunk Rest Opportunities
Introduction: Airline pilots are required to take a rest break in a bunk during long-haul flights in an effort to reduce sleepiness during critical phases of flight.
- Semantic Scholar 2020 · Article (Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy)
Routine opioid outcome monitoring in community pharmacy: Outcomes from an open-label single-arm implementation-effectiveness pilot study.
BACKGROUND In response to rising harms with prescription opioids, recent attention has focused on how to better utilise community pharmacists to monitor outcomes with opioid medicines.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2011 · Journal article (JAAER)
System Safety Study: Pedagogical Aviation Action Research
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