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ERA21LA055

2020-11-24 · Manville, New Jersey, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 47N

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain a proper glidepath while on approach to the runway, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in the airplane colliding with a tree on final approach.

Factual narrative

As the flight instructor and the private pilot approached the runway for landing, the flight instructor told the pilot the airplane was getting too low and that he needed to add power “more than once.” When the pilot did not add sufficient power to correct the descent, she attempted to add it herself, but it was too late, and the airplane’s left wing stuck the tree. The airplane then struck the ground short of the runway, continued forward until it reached the runway lip, and then nosed over. The airplane’s left wing and the fuselage were substantially damaged. The operator reported there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA21LA055.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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