Probable cause
The flight instrctor's delayed remedial action during landing. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot’s loss of directional control when he became distracted with the open door.
NTSB analysis
The student pilot reported that the accident landing was his fourth landing. He said that the landing was hard and the airplane bounced. He stated that he added power and about the same time, his door came open. He said that he initially ignored the door, but thought that the open door was causing the airplane to yaw to the left. He then tried to close the door, and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and struck a ditch. The flight instructor reported no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN11LA549 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 4, 2011
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- East Troy, Wisconsin
- Nearest airport
- East Troy Municipal Airport (57C)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Aerosport Ltd IKARUS C42E
- N-number
- N577JP
- Category
- Airplane
- 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.