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ERA11CA284

2011-05-03 · Stuart, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SUA

N88EP has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (RANS S-21 OUTBOUND, built 2025), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot stated he did not flare the airplane properly, which resulted in a hard landing. The nose landing gear collided with the runway; he then made a go-around and landed uneventfully. Another pilot subsequently flew the airplane and returned it early due to a "different sound in engine noise." Examination of the airplane by the other pilot revealed one propeller blade tip was bent. Further examination by company maintenance personnel revealed the engine firewall was buckled. The student pilot stated that he did not flare the airplane properly, which resulted in the airplane touching down hard on the nose landing gear, and bouncing back into the air. He performed a go-around and landed successfully. Another pilot subsequently flew the airplane and returned it early due to a different sound in engine noise. Examination of the airplane by the other pilot revealed one propeller blade tip was bent. Further examination by company maintenance personnel revealed the engine firewall was buckled. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Student pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Incorrect use/operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA284.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 (go-around, maintenance). All research papers