No fatalities

2 Dec 2015: GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA 5 B — West Point, VA

West Point, VA, United States

On 2 Dec 2015, a GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA 5 B was involved in an aviation accident near West Point, VA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's decision to fly a traffic pattern following an aborted instrument landing in night instrument metrological conditions, which resulted in a loss of visual reference to the runway, an inadvertent aerodynamic stall, and a collision with terrain. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot exiting IMC high and fast during a night instrument approach aborted the landing, turned left instead of executing the missed approach, reentered IMC, experienced a stall, and impacted terrain west of the runway.

Incident Details

During a night flight under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), the pilot exited Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) approximately 400 feet above the glidepath and at an elevated speed while conducting an instrument approach.

Sequence of Events

The pilot continued the landing but touched down more than halfway along the wet runway. Deciding to abort the landing, the pilot turned left and entered the traffic pattern instead of executing the published missed approach procedure. While on the left base leg, the pilot reentered IMC, heard the stall warning horn, and felt aerodynamic buffeting. During the inadvertent stall, the pilot added power but continued the descent with the intention to land. On final approach, the pilot regained visual reference to the runway lights and realized the aircraft was too low. Attempting to add full power for a go-around, the airplane impacted terrain approximately 1,300 feet west of the runway in a left-wing-down attitude.

Aircraft Damage

The vertical stabilizer, fuselage, and both wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Causes

PilotCapability exceededEffect on personnel

Other contributing factors

Descent/approach/glide path — Not attained/maintainedCompliance w/ procedure