Event GAA20CA015

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during takeoff, the airplane lifted off and he felt "a strange push" and the airplane drifted left towards some hangars. He made corrections toward the runway centerline and the airplane felt "mushy." The airspeed decreased, so he lowered the nose to increase the airspeed. The airplane "continued to [aerodynamically] stall." The airplane landed in a soft field and came to a sudden stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation station, located 6 miles to the east, reported that, about 37 minutes before the accident, the wind was variable at 3 knots. The same automated station reported that, about 23 minutes after the accident, the wind was calm. The pilot reported that the wind was 7 to 10 mph from the south-southeast and shifted to 7 to 10 mph from the north-northeast. The pilot departed on runway 18. The pilot reported that, during takeoff, the airplane lifted off and that he felt "a strange push," and the airplane drifted left toward some hangars. He made corrections toward the runway centerline, and the airplane felt "mushy." The airspeed decreased, so he lowered the nose to increase the airspeed. The airplane then stalled, impacted a soft field, and came to a sudden stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that the wind was 7 to 10 mph from the south-southeast and shifted to 7 to 10 mph from the north-northeast. The pilot departed from runway 18. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Variable wind-Effect on operation