Event GAA18CA442

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during a three-point landing, in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, as soon as the airplane touched down the tailwheel shimmied. He raised the tail attempting to keep the airplane straight, but it veered to the right. He applied left brake, but the airplane continued toward a ditch. He then applied right rudder and right brake attempting to spin the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and left elevator. The pilot reported the wind to be 230° at 4 knots at the accident airport. The automated weather observation system about 17 nautical miles from the accident site reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 230° at 7 knots. The pilot landed on runway 21. The pilot reported that, during a three-point landing in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, as soon as the airplane touched down, the tailwheel shimmied. He raised the tail attempting to keep the airplane straight, but it veered right. He applied left brake, but the airplane continued toward a ditch. He then applied right rudder and right brake attempting to spin the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and left elevator. The pilot reported that the wind was from 230° at 4 knots at the accident airport. The automated weather observation system about 17 nautical miles from the accident site reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 230° at 7 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 21. 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C