Summary
On June 19, 2012, a Piper PA-28-161 (N373CA) was involved in an incident near Lake Wales, FL. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the student pilot’s power management, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's premature power reduction during the landing flare.
According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), he was conducting a training flight with the student pilot on short field landings. During last short field landing, as the airplane flew over the runway numbers, the airplane dropped and landed hard. According to the student pilot, he recalled that the airplane was at 55 knots during short final. As the airplane began to descend, he attempted a go-around, but did not advance the throttle quickly enough and the airplane landed hard on the runway. During the examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, it was revealed that the firewall was buckled. The CFI and student pilot did not report any flight control malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA12CA407. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N373CA.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the student pilot’s power management, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's premature power reduction during the landing flare.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), he was conducting a training flight with the student pilot on short field landings. During last short field landing, as the airplane flew over the runway numbers, the airplane dropped and landed hard. According to the student pilot, he recalled that the airplane was at 55 knots during short final. As the airplane began to descend, he attempted a go-around, but did not advance the throttle quickly enough and the airplane landed hard on the runway. During the examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, it was revealed that the firewall was buckled. The CFI and student pilot did not report any flight control malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA12CA407