Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / ERA11CA420

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA11CA420

2011-07-23 Rockland, Maine, United States Airport · RKD None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper approach path during landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that he was landing at the conclusion of a local flight. As the airplane passed over the runways threshold the airplane's main landing gear contacted high grass. The airplane nosed over and impacted the runway inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both left and right top wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane, and that the accident could have been prevented by conducting a higher approach to landing. The pilot stated that he was landing at the conclusion of a local flight. As the airplane passed over the runway threshold the airplane's main landing gear contacted high grass. The airplane nosed over and impacted the runway inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both left and right top wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident, and that the accident could have been prevented by conducting a higher approach to landing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA420.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.