Probable cause
The instructor's delayed remedial actions, and the student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall just above the ground and the subsequent hard landing.
NTSB analysis
The student pilot and his instructor were landing in a tailwheel-equipped airplane at night. The student pilot did two full stop landings on the night cross-country flight. During the first landing, the airplane stalled just above the runway, and the front left landing gear made contact with the runway first, resulting in a hard landing. The second landing was a normal, soft touchdown landing. A postflight inspection revealed that a portion of airplane's fuselage, on the left side, sustained substantial damage from the hard landing. The instructor pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC15CA031 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- May 27, 2015
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Palmer, Alaska
- Nearest airport
- Palmer Airport (PAAQ)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Night
Aeronca 7EC
- N-number
- N84116
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1946
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.