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ERA14CA081

2013-12-13 · Farmingdale, New Jersey, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BLM

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

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

Factual narrative

The student pilot was landing at his destination airport. He reported that when the airplane was over the runway numbers, he reduced engine power to idle to prepare for landing. During touchdown, the airplane landed hard and bounced. The airplane bounced two additional times before coming to rest on the runway with a blown nose landing gear tire. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall. The student pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal flight. The student pilot was landing at his destination airport. He reported that when the airplane was over the runway numbers, he reduced engine power to idle to prepare for landing. During touchdown, the airplane landed hard and bounced. The airplane bounced two additional times before coming to rest on the runway with a blown nose landing gear tire. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall. The student pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal flight. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student pilot - C
  • F Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - F

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_ERA14CA081.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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