No fatalities

12 Aug 2016: GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA 5A — Reno, NV

Reno, NV, United States

On 12 Aug 2016, a GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA 5A was involved in an aviation accident near Reno, NV. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to see and avoid fence posts during landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings. 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 experiencing a severe headache attempted to land on a remote dirt area near a lake but struck fence posts shortly before touchdown, resulting in substantial wing damage.

Incident Details

According to the pilot's report, while flying over a lake, he developed a severe headache and decided to land on a remote dirt area on the northwest side of the lake to rest. He overflew his intended landing site and did not see any obstructions to landing.

Pilot Account

Close to touchdown, the pilot noticed fence posts perpendicular to his landing path. He applied full power in an attempt to climb over them but was unsuccessful. The airplane impacted the posts, causing substantial damage to the wings.

Aircraft Damage

The accident resulted in substantial damage to the wings of the airplane.

Mechanical Status

The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Effect on operationPilotAltitude — Not attained/maintained