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GAA19CA028

2018-10-18 · Hastings, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 9D9

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in the airplane landing sideways and a subsequent runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that, while observing the solo student pilot's flight from the ground, the approach looked good, but the airplane might have been fast. As the airplane flared, he noticed the right wing "kind of pop up" just before touch down. Subsequently, the airplane landed sideways and exited the left side of the runway. The instructor added that, the student was unsure of what happened, but reported that he had just lost control. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that, while observing the solo student pilot's flight from the ground, the approach looked good, but the airplane might have been fast. As the airplane flared, he noticed the right wing "kind of pop up" just before touchdown. Subsequently, the airplane landed sideways and exited the left side of the runway. The instructor added that the student was unsure of what happened but reported that he had just lost control. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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 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-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_GAA19CA028.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.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers