N28037 – Bellanca 1730 – 2019-11-23 NTSB Accident Report

On November 23, 2019, a Bellanca 1730 (N28037) was involved in an incident near Clear Lake, MN. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's focus inside the cockpit during the base turn and final approach, which led to a high sink rate developing and a subsequent hard landing short of the runway.

The private pilot was conducting a night visual flight to an airport with dim runway lighting. During the base turn and final approach, the pilot stated his attention was focused inside the cockpit as he rechecked the landing gear, mixture lever, and propeller lever positions. He noticed a sink rate had developed as the airplane's landing lights illuminated a row of 50-75 ft trees on the final approach.

The pilot pulled back aggressively on the yoke to clear the trees. The airplane continued to sink and impacted the ground with a high descent rate short of the runway, which damaged the fuselage and firewall. Following the accident, the pilot reflected that his attention should have been focused more outside the cockpit during the base turn and final approach.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN20CA026. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N28037.