Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-5 N7138L accident near Brunswick, Georgia

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing flare. Contributing to the accident were the gusting winds.

NTSB analysis

While landing, the pilot approached the runway in a "crab" and with the right wing down, into the wind. The pilot stated that a "strong gust" of wind pushed the right wing toward the ground as the main gear touched down in a nose-up attitude. The airplane became airborne; the pilot decided to initiate a go-around and applied full power. As the airplane gained altitude, another gust of wind rolled the airplane to the right. The pilot applied full ailerons and rudder authority to level the wings, then realized the airplane was headed towards trees that it would be unable to clear. The pilot then pulled the throttle to idle and flared the airplane into a stall as the airplane descended into the trees. The wind at the time of the accident was 40 degrees right of the airplane's nose at 12 knots, gusting to 20 knots.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA09CA118 for the full record.