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GAA18CA199

2018-03-29 · New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EWB

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain a proper landing flare, which resulted in a porpoised landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that, during a solo flight, as he flared for landing, the airplane "hit" the runway hard. He added that, the airplane porpoised about 7 or 8 times before settling on the runway. He then taxied the airplane to the parking ramp with no further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The chief flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that, during a solo flight, as he flared for landing, the airplane "hit" the runway hard. He added that the airplane porpoised about 7 or 8 times before settling on the runway. He then taxied the airplane to the parking ramp with no further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The chief flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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 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_2018_GAA18CA199.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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