NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA06CA101
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The improper flare by the pilot resulting in a hard landing and substantial damage to the airplane.
Factual narrative
On May 1, 2006, about 1445 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N738DW, registered to Palmetto Sales & Leasing, Inc., operated by ADF Airways Corporation, experienced a loss of control during landing at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, Miami, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight from Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated about 1425, from Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport. The pilot stated that approximately 20 minutes after takeoff he radioed the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport Air Traffic Control Tower and requested touch-and-go landings. He reported having a difficulty with the aircraft's radio and was cleared for a full stop landing on runway 9R. He further reported,''...the landing seemed normal; the main wheels touch down, but then as I noticed the yoke not releasing from the flare, the aircraft starts to balloon, I add a little power and attempt to land but the yoke was stiff." The airplane ballooned "...a couple of times, hitting the ground hard until I finally stopped." He taxied the airplane to the ramp and secured it where he again noticed the elevator control still stiff. Postaccident examination of the airplane by an airframe and powerplant mechanic revealed impact damage to the firewall, and the control yoke was displaced up and was in contact with an instrument panel support bracket. Examination of the elevator flight control system revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. The pilot stated that approximately 20 minutes after takeoff he radioed the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport Air Traffic Control Tower and requested touch-and-go landings. He reported having difficulty with the aircraft's radio and was cleared for a full stop landing on runway 9R. He further reported,''...the landing seemed normal; the main wheels touch down, but then as I noticed the yoke not releasing from the flare, the aircraft starts to balloon, I add a little power and attempt to land but the yoke was stiff." The airplane ballooned "...a couple of times, hitting the ground hard until I finally stopped." He taxied the airplane to the ramp and secured it where he again noticed the elevator control still stiff. Postaccident examination of the airplane by an airframe and powerplant mechanic revealed impact damage to the firewall, and the control yoke was displaced up and was in contact with an instrument panel support bracket. Examination of the elevator flight control system revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2006_MIA06CA101.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2022 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Takeoff in Icing Conditions — Citation 560XL
Cessna Citation 560XL fatal takeoff icing accident, March 2018. Investigation of a Citation 560XL loss-of-control takeoff accident in icing conditions.
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aviation)
ANALYSIS OF GENERAL AVIATION FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS INVOLVING INFLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL USING A STATE-BASED APPROACH
Inflight loss of control (LOC-I) is a significant cause of General Aviation (GA) fixed-wing aircraft accidents. The United States National Transportation Safety Board’s database provides a rich source…
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Presentation
Use of Design of Experiments in Determining Neural Network Architectures for Loss of Control Detection
Abstract—We describe empirical methods for selecting a neural network architecture to implement belief state inference on generic commercial transport aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Conference Paper
Use of Design of Experiments in Determining Neural Network Architectures for Loss of Control Detection
We describe empirical methods for selecting a neural network architecture to implement belief state inference on generic commercial transport aircraft.
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