- Date
- January 30, 2025, 15:30 UTC
- Place
- Ravenswood, WV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N74608Grumman American Avn. AA-5B
- Defining event
- Taxi-to runway: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 199643
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s distraction during taxi, which resulted in a taxiway excursion.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he was taxiing to the end of the runway in preparation for takeoff. During the taxi, the pilot noted a fault message on the GPS. While his attention was focused on the GPS, the airplane departed the edge of the taxiway, rolled down a hill, and came to rest in trees and brush. Both of the airplane’s wings were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74608
- Reported as
- Grumman American Avn. AA-5B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5B0282
- Built
- 1976
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4K, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 31, 2024
- Airport
- I18 · Jackson County
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 12, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 407 total · 252 in this make and model · 5.9 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- PKB, 24 nm away
- METAR
- KPKB 301453Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 02/M05 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP227 T00171050 51007
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 121 MB in all.