Event GAA19CA076

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during a night landing, the student pilot relaxed back pressure and the nose landing gear struck the runway. The airplane bounced, the instructor took the flight controls, and he settled the airplane back onto the runway. They taxied off the runway, did not observe anything wrong with the airplane, and continued two more take offs and landings without further incident. During the 100-hour inspection the next day, it was observed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that, during a night landing, the student pilot relaxed back pressure, and the nose landing gear struck the runway. The airplane bounced, and the instructor took the flight controls and settled the airplane back onto the runway. They then taxied off the runway and did not see anything wrong with the airplane, so they continued two more takeoffs and landings without further incident. During the 100-hour inspection the next day, it was observed that the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The 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

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or 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