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GAA17CA099

2016-12-23 · Hartford, Connecticut, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HFD

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced hard landing.

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported that during the initial landing, the airplane bounced. During a subsequent touchdown, the nose gear impacted the runway with a side load and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane slid to a stop in a nose down attitude on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. 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 initial landing, the airplane bounced. During a subsequent touchdown, the nose gear impacted the runway with a side load, and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane slid to a stop in a nose-down attitude on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The student pilot reported there were no preimpact 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-Landing flare-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_2016_GAA17CA099.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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