NTSB ERA25LA191 — 2025-03-28 · Chesterfield, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N4754

Make / Model: VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV-12
Year of manufacture: 2017 · 8 years old at event
Engine: ROTAX 912ULS SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20171005
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A5D691

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N4754 VANS AIRCRAFT INC RV-12 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and the collapse of the nose landing gear.

Factual narrative

The pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern and reported that he was slightly high on final approach and added power to reach the runway threshold. As he began the flare, a gust of wind struck the airplane and it yawed to the right. He applied left rudder to correct, but the descent rate remained high, and the airplane touched down hard on the right main landing gear and bounced. After regaining control, he completed the landing. During the landing rollout, he described feeling a vibration and hearing a scraping noise, which led him to believe the nose landing gear had collapsed. The airplane subsequently came to reset and a postimpact fire ignited inside the engine cowling. Airport personnel extinguished the fire shortly thereafter. The airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane’s flight controls 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Response/compensation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA25LA191.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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