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 ↗.
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 ↗
Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear, runway excursion, thunderstorm). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal) Evolution of downdrafts and rotation in an Illinois thunderstorm
Multiple-Doppler radar observations of a non-severe Illinois thunderstorm with nearly rectilinear vertical wind shear and storm motion related to the wind at a height of 2.5 km are discussed.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article Runway Excursion — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary runway excursion review — RE-OE (overruns) + RE-LO (lateral). Risk drivers: long landing, high approach speed, contaminated surface, tailwind, mis-set autobrakes.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA) The Impact of Thunderstorms on Take-off Data in South Africa
Aviation and meteorology are entwined disciplines, as aviation occurs in the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions at take-off are of utmost importance to aviation.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Optimal recovery from microburst wind shear
The flight path of a twin-jet transport aircraft is optimized in a microburst encounter during approach to landing. The objective is to execute an escape maneuver that maintains safe ground clearance …
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2019 · Accident report Embraer ERJ 175 Runway Excursion at Charlotte Douglas
Republic Airline ERJ-175 runway excursion CLT, January 2018. Examines a low-energy runway excursion involving misuse of autobrakes + thrust reverser response after a high-crosswind landing on a contam…