No fatalities

3 May 2009: AMERICAN AA-1 — Cumberland, WI

Cumberland, WI, United States

On 3 May 2009, an AMERICAN AA-1 was involved in an aviation accident near Cumberland, WI. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft during takeoff in crosswind conditions. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 10 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a crosswind takeoff from a turf runway, an airplane encountered an intersecting asphalt runway with a height difference that launched it, leading to loss of control and a runway excursion across a road into a field. Substantial damage to the right wing and landing gear occurred.

Accident Description

According to the pilot's report, the accident took place during a crosswind takeoff from a turf runway. The pilot noted that the airplane encountered an intersecting asphalt runway with a height difference that tended to "launch" the airplane. He stated that he was unable to maintain control due to the crosswind. Despite attempting to continue the takeoff, the airplane proceeded beyond the end of the runway, crossed a road, and impacted a field.

Aircraft Damage

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. Additional damage was reported to the nose landing gear, right main landing gear, and right flap.

Wind Conditions

The pilot reported a left 90-degree crosswind of about 10 knots at the time of the accident.

Pilot Comments

The pilot commented that additional flight instruction from an instructor familiar with the make and model airplane would have been helpful.

Contributing factors

Causes

PilotCrosswind correction — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Response/compensation