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GAA19CA335

2019-06-09 · Moriarty, New Mexico, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 0E0

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper landing flare in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot in the multi-engine airplane reported that, during approach, he was too high and too fast. He pulled both throttles to idle and the airplane "got too slow." About one quarter mile from the runway, he reduced the flaps from full (third notch) to the second notch. He added that, above the runway, he heard the stall warning horn sound, he flared, and the airplane landed hard. The left main landing gear and nose wheel tires popped. He was able to taxi back to the hangar without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing spars. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the wind was from 108° at 4 knots, gusting to 19 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 08. The pilot in the multiengine airplane reported that, during approach, he was too high and too fast. He pulled both throttles to idle, and the airplane "got too slow." About 1/4 mile from the runway, he reduced the flaps from full (third notch) to the second notch. He added that, above the runway, he heard the stall warning horn sound and that he then flared the airplane, which landed hard. The left main landing gear and nosewheel tires popped. He was able to taxi back to the hangar without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing spars. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the wind was from 108° at 4 knots, gusting to 19 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 08. 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-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2019_GAA19CA335.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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