Pilot Debrief

VANS RV12 near Waldport, OR — 2013-03-30

Final reportWPR13LA174
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Date
2013-03-30
Location
Waldport, OR, USA
Airport
R33
Aircraft
VANS RV12
Registration
N572LS
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

NTSB narrative

During landing on a turf runway, the nosewheel landing gear separated. An examination of the runway surface revealed impact marks consistent with a hard landing in an almost-level attitude. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Downloaded nonvolatile memory indicated that the airplane's initial touchdown was flat or slightly negative, which resulted in the nose landing gear contacting the runway surface before the main landing gear. The data also indicated that the landing occurred at a high rate of speed and that the pilot did not attempt to flare the airplane during the landing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have initiated a flare during landing to prevent nose gear failure.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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