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Atlas / NTSB / WPR14CA378

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR14CA378

2014-08-25 Walla Walla, Washington, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's misjudged approach which resulted in overshooting the landing point and insufficient remaining landing surface.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he overflew an open field that he intended to conduct an off airport landing on. He stated that the field was of sufficient length and had a suitable landing surface. During the landing, the tailwheel equipped airplane touched down longer than the pilot had intended and he intentionally ground looped the airplane to avoid traveling down a ravine. During the accident sequence, the left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he overflew an open field that he intended to conduct an off airport landing on. He stated that the field was of sufficient length and had a suitable landing surface. During the landing, the tailwheel equipped airplane touched down longer than the pilot had intended and he intentionally ground looped the airplane to avoid traveling down a ravine. During the accident sequence, the left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot 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

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Landing distance-Capability exceeded - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_WPR14CA378.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.