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GAA16CA245

2016-05-18 · Carbondale, Illinois, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MDH

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's inadequate flare which resulted in a hard landing, loss of directional control, and a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported that on his second supervised solo landing touchdown, the airplane landed flat and firm. He further reported that the airplane "roared" then veered off the runway to the left, and stopped abruptly after the nose wheel became stuck in mud. The student pilot further reported that he may have accidently advanced the throttle after he was pushed forward during the flat landing. According to the student pilot there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The solo student pilot reported that on his second supervised solo landing touchdown, the airplane landed flat and firm. He further reported that the airplane "roared" then veered off the runway to the left, and stopped abruptly after the nose wheel became stuck in mud. The student pilot further reported that he may have accidently advanced the throttle after he was pushed forward during the flat landing. According to the student pilot there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the firewall. 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-Landing flare-Incorrect use/operation - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA245.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers