Skip to content

GAA16CA275

2016-05-30 · Saginaw, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MBS

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's exceedance of the critical angle of attack during the landing flare, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall, hard landing, right main landing gear collapse, runway excursion, and nose over.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that after a long straight-in final approach, as he reduced power for the landing flare, the airplane dropped "flat" and bounced hard on the runway. The pilot further reported that he added power to cushion the touchdown after the bounce, but the right main landing gear had collapsed after the initial impact. Subsequently, the airplane veered off the runway to the left and nosed over. The fuselage, wings, and vertical stabilizer were substantially damaged. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that after a long straight-in final approach, as he reduced power for the landing flare, the airplane dropped "flat" and bounced hard on the runway. The pilot further reported that he added power to cushion the touchdown after the bounce, but the right main landing gear had collapsed after the initial impact. Subsequently, the airplane veered off the runway to the left and nosed over. The fuselage, wings, and vertical stabilizer were substantially damaged. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane 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-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Capability exceeded

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA275.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

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