NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA180
Registry · N29NX
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIETENPOL AIR CAMPER
Year of manufacture
2008 · 7 years old at event
Engine
AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20081002
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A2F463
Registrant of record
BACH LAURA C
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The student pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during the landing touchdown, resulting in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
The student pilot reported that during the landing touchdown, she landed "a bit hard," and the forward momentum caused the nose of the airplane to contact the runway. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the right aft wing strut and to the fuselage underneath the rudder pedals. The student pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that during the landing touchdown, she landed "a bit hard," and the forward momentum caused the nose of the airplane to contact the runway. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the right aft wing strut and to the fuselage underneath the rudder pedals. The student 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
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_GAA15CA180.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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