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GAA16CA047

2015-11-09 · Miami, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TMB

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported that during the landing flare, she "missed a little bit of flare and did a flat landing." She reported that the landing didn't really feel hard, and taxied back to the ramp. A post flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall and fuselage. The student pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The solo student pilot reported that during the landing flare, she "missed a little bit of flare and did a flat landing." She reported that the landing didn't really feel hard, and taxied back to the ramp. A post flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall and fuselage. The student pilot reported there were 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA16CA047.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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