NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA16CA047
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
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or 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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