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GAA17CA129

2017-01-26 · Midland, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MAF

N38EE has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (SCHEMPP HIRTH FLUGZEUGBAU GMBH ARCUS M, built 2024), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

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

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported that after completing maneuvers in the local area, he returned to his home airport and was cleared for a straight-in approach. The student pilot further reported that during touchdown, the nose wheel and propeller struck the runway hard and the airplane bounced. During the second bounce, he increased power to abort the landing, but was unsuccessful due to the damaged nose wheel and propeller. Subsequently, the student pilot stopped the airplane on the runway. The firewall and fuselage sustained substantial damage. The student pilot did not report any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The solo student pilot reported that, after completing maneuvers in the local area, he returned to his home airport and was cleared for a straight-in approach. During touchdown, the nosewheel and propeller struck the runway hard, and the airplane bounced. During the second bounce, he increased power to abort the landing but was unsuccessful due to the damaged nosewheel and propeller. Subsequently, the student pilot stopped the airplane on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and fuselage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident 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-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA17CA129.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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