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Hard landing for Piper

By NTSB · May 19, 2013 ·

Aircraft: Piper Arrow III. Injuries: None. Location: Grand Forks, N.D. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The student pilot and flight instructor were practicing a simulated forced landing to a runway. According to the instructor, the airplane touched down firmly, then veered to the right during the roll out.

The instructor noted that the right wing was lower than the left wing and his initial thought was that the right tire was flat. After coming to a stop, the airplane would not move forward without an excessive application of engine power.

The post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear had collapsed

Probable cause: The flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the landing, which resulted in an inadequate flare and subsequent hard landing.

NTSB Identification: CEN11LA390

This May 2011 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

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Comments

  1. Vaughn S. Price says

    June 6, 2013 at 3:21 pm

    I agree with all comments. This was obviously an under qualified Instructor way over his head. Or he was daydreaming about last nights date

  2. Fritz Katz says

    May 20, 2013 at 11:08 am

    That has always been a tipoff you just landed gear up:
    “airplane would not move forward without an excessive application of engine power”

  3. John Wesley says

    May 19, 2013 at 7:27 am

    Firmly!!!!, What was his first clue, the landing gear protruding through the top of the wing????

  4. Karl Schneider says

    May 19, 2013 at 7:02 am

    “…touched down firmly”? I think the adverb there is pretty charitable!

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