Event GAA18CA542

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that he was performing touch-and-go's during a solo flight in the pattern. During the fifth landing, the airplane drifted over the runways left edge. He attempted to abort the landing by increasing power, but he did not apply enough right rudder. The airplane banked hard to the left prior to colliding with a fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The student pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that he was performing touch-and-go landings during a solo flight in the traffic pattern. During the fifth landing, the airplane drifted over the runway's left edge. He attempted to abort the landing by increasing power, but he did not apply enough right rudder. The airplane banked hard to the left before colliding with a fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The student 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-Student/instructed pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Contributed to outcome