Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-5A N76GC accident near Metaline Falls, Washington

Probable cause

The pilot’s distracted attention on approach to landing on their failure to attain a proper touchdown point and his inability to stop the landing roll on the grass runway.,

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that while on approach to the runway, he was distracted and failed to adjust his aimpoint for the short-field approach and landing. As the airplane touched down on the grass runway at about 70 miles per hour, he applied the brakes, however, the airplane’s speed was too fast to stop before reaching the end of the runway. The nose of the airplane turned to the left, the airplane overran the end of the runway and came to rest on down sloping terrain in a drainage culvert beyond the runway threshold. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and fuselage.

The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that he had at that airport many times, and the uphill slope of the runway provided him with false confidence.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR26LA272 for the full record.