Probable cause
The pilot’s inadvertent application of the autopilot during short final, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and hard landing.
NTSB analysis
The pilot reported that, during his second flight, following the installation of a new autopilot, he noticed on short final that the mixture was set too lean. He added that, "with a gloved hand," he pushed the mixture in to a richer setting and accidently turned on the autopilot, which was located directly above the mixture control. The autopilot was set to navigation mode, heading mode, and altitude mode from a previous flight. The pilot reported that he was "fighting the auto pilot" and that the airplane aerodynamically stalled, which resulted in a hard landing.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA17CA108 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Jan 1, 2017
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Casa Grande, Arizona
- Nearest airport
- Casa Grande Muni (CGZ)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Amateur-built RV-7
- N-number
- N5897R
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2015
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.