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GAA15CA054

2015-04-21 · Campbellsville, Kentucky, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AAS

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper landing flare which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

During the landing flare, the pilot reported that it "felt like the air was sucked out from under the plane". The airplane landed hard on the main landing gear, bounced and touched down again buckling the nose landing gear. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. During the landing flare, the pilot reported that it "felt like the air was sucked out from under the plane". The airplane landed hard on the main landing gear, bounced and touched down again buckling the nose landing gear. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. 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-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA054.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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