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GAA18CA505

2018-08-23 · Churchville, Maryland, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 0W3

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control after landing left of the runway centerline, which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with a power box.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during landing, on short final, he "corrected the approach with a crab for a crosswind landing," and the airplane touchdown on the 1st third of the runway "slightly fast" and left of runway centerline. During the landing roll, the airplane gradually veered left and exited the runway. The pilot applied full power and initiated a go around, but the airplane continued left and struck a power box. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut and right horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation station located on an airport about 6 nm away, reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from variable° at 4 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was from the north, about 10-15 knots. The airplane landed on runway 28. As requested, the pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. The pilot reported that, during landing, on short final, he "corrected the approach with a crab for a crosswind landing," and the airplane touched down on the first third of the runway "slightly fast" and left of the runway centerline. During the landing roll, the airplane gradually veered left and exited the runway. The pilot applied full power and initiated a go-around, but the airplane continued left and struck a power box. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut and right horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. An automated weather observation station located on an airport about 6 nautical miles away from the accident site reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was variable at 4 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was from the north and between about 10 and 15 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 28. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-(general)-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_GAA18CA505.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion, go-around). All research papers