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GAA19CA383

2019-06-25 · Milton, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 2R4

Current FAA registration · N5697V

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-161
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19770510
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A74BBA

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The flight instructor's intentional overapplication of rudder to avoid a ditch during landing with a tailwind, which resulted in a runway excursion and landing gear collapse.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that, while returning to the departure airport after an instruction flight, she noticed that the weather was deteriorating and decided that she would perform the landing. She added that she felt windshear during the approach and she flew the airplane about 5 to 10 knots faster than normal. During the landing, she "felt a strong push from behind that accelerated the plane tremendously." She applied full brakes, the airplane continued moving forward, approaching and leaving the end of the runway. Concerned the airplane would impact a deep ditch, the flight instructor turned the airplane to the left, collapsing the right main landing gear and coming to rest on the grass. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. An automated weather observation station, located 4 miles north, reported that, about 11 minutes after the accident, the wind was calm with light thunderstorm rain. The airplane was landing on runway 18. Additionally, at 45 past the hour, thunderstorms and cumulonimbus clouds were reported in the area with peak wind gusts from 240° at 29 knots. The flight instructor reported that, while returning to the departure airport after an instructional flight, she noticed that the weather was deteriorating and decided that she would perform the landing. She added that she felt wind shear during the approach, and she flew the airplane about 5 to 10 knots faster than normal. During the landing, she "felt a strong push from behind that accelerated the [air]plane tremendously." She applied full brakes, but the airplane continued moving forward and exited the end of the runway. Concerned the airplane would impact a deep ditch, the instructor turned the airplane left. The airplane came to rest in grass, and the main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wings. 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-Capability exceeded - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Empennage structure-Rudder-Capability exceeded - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C
  • C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Effect on operation - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2019_GAA19CA383.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear, runway excursion, thunderstorm). All research papers