GAA19CA285

Factual narrative

The student pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that, during the instructional flight, he was practicing stop and go landings. On his second landing, while on short final, the glide path was lower than normal, and he increased the power setting to extend the glide. After crossing the runway threshold, he flared slightly high and leveled the airplane to keep from sinking too fast. The airplane bounced slightly on touchdown, and he overcorrected with rudder inputs due to a crosswind. The airplane rolled forward and the tail began to rise. The flight instructor reported that at this point he took over control, and applied back stick pressure, however, the airflow was to slow over the elevator flight control surface to have effect and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted on the runway. The left-wing lift strut and rudder were substantially damaged. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that, during the instructional flight, he was practicing stop-and-go landings. On his second landing, while on short final, the glidepath was lower than normal, and he increased the power setting to extend the glide. After the airplane crossed the runway threshold, he flared slightly high and leveled the airplane to keep it from sinking too fast. The airplane bounced slightly on touchdown, and he overcorrected with rudder inputs due to a crosswind. The airplane rolled forward, and the tail began to rise. The flight instructor reported that, at this point, he took over control of the airplane and applied back stick pressure; however, the airflow was too slow over the elevator flight control surface to have effect, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The left-wing lift strut and rudder were substantially damaged. The student and 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-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
• C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Response/compensation - C