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CEN20CA086

2020-02-15 · Huron, South Dakota, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HON

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during final approach, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall at too low of an altitude to recover.

Factual narrative

The private pilot stated that the airplane was low and at a slower than normal airspeed while on final approach. When the airplane was about 50 ft above the ground he reduced the engine power to idle to land, but the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and descended into a snowbank short of the runway. Both wings were substantially damaged and the nose wheel collapsed during impact. The pilot also stated that there were no malfunctions with the airplane that would have contributed to the accident. The pilot stated that the airplane was low and at a slower-than-normal airspeed while on final approach. When the airplane was about 50 ft above ground level, he reduced the engine power to idle to land, but the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and descended into a snowbank short of the runway. Both wings sustained substantial damage, and the nosewheel collapsed. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN20CA086.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers