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Atlas / NTSB / ERA20CA268

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA20CA268

2020-07-18 Linconville, Maine, United States Airport · PVT None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N4365M

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-12

Year of manufacture

1947 · 73 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 hp)

Seats / Engines

3 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19560526

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A53C7B

Registrant of record

MARTIN NATHANIEL W

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing and subsequent main landing gear collapse.

Factual narrative

At the conclusion of a local flight with stops at several airports, the pilot was returning to the private grass runway. The pilot described that the final approach to the runway was “too fast,” and that when the airplane touched down on the soft turf it bounced. When the airplane touched down a second time, the landing gear collapsed. The fuselage was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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
  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA268.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.