NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA15CA086
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and collapse of the left main landing gear.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that while landing at night in visual meteorological conditions, the airplane landed hard and the left main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In an interview with the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot stated he was accustomed to approaches with instrument and visual glidepath guidance. According to the airport/facilities directory entry for the accident airport, a note advised pilots that the size, spacing, and number of runway edge and end lights were not standard. The pilot stated that while landing at night in visual meteorological conditions, the airplane landed hard and the left main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In an interview with the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot stated he was accustomed to approaches with instrument and visual glidepath guidance. According to the airport/facilities directory entry for the accident airport, a note advised pilots that the size, spacing, and number of runway edge and end lights were not standard. 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-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2014_ERA15CA086.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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