Event GAA19CA027

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that this was the student pilot's first solo in a tailwheel equipped airplane and the accident had occurred during the landing roll of the forth landing. He added that, during the landing roll, the airplane veered to the left. The student corrected with right rudder input, but over corrected and was unable to arrest the veer. The airplane continued off the runway and the left wing impacted a pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to left wing. The instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The investigator-in-charge made multiple attempts to contact the student pilot but was unsuccessful. The flight instructor reported that this was the student pilot's first solo in a tailwheel-equipped airplane and that the accident occurred during the landing roll of the fourth landing. He added that, during the landing roll, the airplane veered left. The student attempted to correct with right rudder input but overcorrected and was unable to stop the veer. The airplane continued off the runway and the left wing impacted a pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Pole-Contributed to outcome