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GAA15CA003

2015-03-07 · San Manuel, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport E77

N132ES has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (SPIRIT ENGINEERING INC SE-1), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot was performing a no flap landing. About 5 feet over the runway, the pilot attempted to center the airplane over the center line but input too much rudder, the airplane landed hard, bounced, and then departed the runway to the left. The nose gear and left main landing gear separated from the fuselage; subsequently the left and right fuselage stringers sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot was performing a no flap landing. About 5 feet over the runway, the pilot attempted to center the airplane over the center line but input too much rudder, the airplane landed hard, bounced, and then departed the runway to the left. The nose gear and left main landing gear separated from the fuselage; subsequently the left and right fuselage stringers sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA003.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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