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ERA15CA086

2014-12-27 · Liberty, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 2A5

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

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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 ↗.