GAA18CA580
2018-09-30 · Van Nuys, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport VNY
Current FAA registration · N400JW
- Make / Model
- PIPER PA-28-180
- Year of manufacture
- 1974 · 44 years old at event
- Engine
- LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 4 seats · 1 engine
- Last airworthiness date
- 19950706
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S A4AD7E
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the landing flare on runway 16L, he felt a gust of wind from the right. To counter the gust he applied, "left rudder" and right aileron to lower the right wing. When the nose landing gear touched down on the runway, the airplane veered to the left and he applied, "minimal right steering and braking" to avoid overcorrecting and colliding with an airplane that was landing on runway 16 right. Subsequently, the airplane exited the left side of the runway and struck a taxiway sign before it came to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The meteorological aerodrome report for the airport that the pilot landed, reported that about the time of the accident. The wind was calm. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, during the landing flare on runway 16L, he felt a wind gust from the right. To counter the gust, he applied left rudder and right aileron to lower the right wing. When the nose landing gear touched down on the runway, the airplane veered left, and he applied "minimal right steering and braking" to avoid overcorrecting and colliding with an airplane that was landing on runway 16R. Subsequently, the airplane exited the left side of the runway and struck a taxiway sign before it came to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The airport's METAR reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was calm. 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
FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Sign/marker-Contributed to outcome
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2018_GAA18CA580.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Search this event elsewhere
External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
- NTSB CAROL Agency ↗
- NTSB Docket Agency ↗
- Aviation Safety Network Aviation press ↗
- Kathryn's Report Aviation press ↗
- Aviation Herald Aviation press ↗
- AVweb Aviation press ↗
- Pilots of America Community ↗
- Reddit /r/flying Community ↗
- FlightAware Aviation press ↗
- AOPA accident database Aviation press ↗
- Google News News ↗
- DuckDuckGo News ↗