NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR11CA432
Registry · N43220
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
TAYLORCRAFT BC12-D
Year of manufacture
1946 · 65 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19580513
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A52D43
Registrant of record
NEAL ALAN B
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The student pilot’s inadequate flare resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision.
Factual narrative
The student pilot and certified flight instructor (CFI) completed nine full stop landings. The wind was variable and increasing in intensity. As the airplane approached the runway, the left wing suddenly dropped at 15 feet above ground level, and the airplane veered left. It touched down hard on the left main landing gear, which collapsed. The right side then touched down hard, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The airframe buckled below the cockpit. After exiting the airplane, the student pilot noted a strong tail wind. The student pilot’s total time was 40 hours. The student pilot and certified flight instructor were practicing full stop landings. As the airplane approached the runway, about 15 feet above ground level, the left wing suddenly dropped, and the airplane veered left. The airplane touched down hard on the left main landing gear, which collapsed. The right side then touched down hard, and the right main landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the airframe buckled below the cockpit and was substantially damaged. 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-Incorrect use/operation - C
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Damaged/degraded
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Student pilot - C
- F Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience-Student pilot - F
- F Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Instructor/check pilot - F
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2011_WPR11CA432.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 (icing). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Contractor Report (CR)
Icing Physics Studies Using the 3D SIDRM Test Article: 2023 Icing Tests Analysis
In-flight icing is an important safety issue and is a factor that affects aircraft design and performance. Newer regulations are driving a need for improvements in airframe and engine icing simulation…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning for UAV-Assisted 5G Network Slicing: A Comparative Study of MAPPO, MADDPG, and MADQN
The growing demand for robust, scalable wireless networks in the 5G-and-beyond era has led to the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile base stations to enhance coverage in dense urb…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Mathematical Model on the Temporal Dynamics of Aviation Competitive Pricing
This study investigates the competitive dynamics of airport pricing using U.S. airport data to validate the findings. It employs linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equation models to analyze t…
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – March 2025
This NASA Icing Update was prepared for presentation to the SAE International AC-9C Inflight Icing Technology Committee. This update includes the following topics: planned Rotational Icing Scaling tes…
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
An energy-stable phase-field model for droplet icing simulations
A phase-field model for three-phase flows is established by combining the Navier-Stokes (NS) and the energy equations, with the Allen-Cahn (AC) and Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equations and is demonstrated ana…
- NASA NTRS 2024 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – Oct 2024
This presentation provides a status update on select NASA icing research activities for the SAE AC-9C Icing Technical Committee Meeting on Oct 21, 2024.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗