Event GAA18CA341

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, during his first attempt to land the nose wheel touched down first and the airplane "porpoised." He aborted the landing and accomplished another landing, but the airplane touched down on the runway and the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot used differential braking to steer the airplane into the grass area on the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. Per the National Transportation Safety Board, Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, in the recommendation section, the pilot asserted that this accident could have been prevented if his airspeed had been slower and that the airplane's pitch attitude was better than the initial landing. Additionally, the pilot noted that he landed with a 90° crosswind from the left. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, the wind was from 08° and the wind speed was 11 knots. The pilot landed on runway 17. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. According to the pilot, during his first attempt to land, the nosewheel touched down first, and the airplane "porpoised." He aborted the landing and accomplished another landing, but when the airplane touched down on the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot used differential braking to steer the airplane into the grassy area on the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if the airspeed had been slower and if the airplane's pitch attitude was better than the initial landing. Additionally, the pilot noted that he landed with a 90° crosswind from the left. The pilot reported that, at the time of the accident, the wind was from 08° at 11 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 17. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures 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 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