Bellanca 1730 N28037 accident near Clear Lake, Minnesota

Probable cause

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.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a night visual flight to an airport with dim runway lighting. The pilot stated that, during the base turn and final approach, 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 landing lights illuminated a row of 50- to 75-ft-tall trees on final approach. The pilot pulled back aggressively on the yoke to clear the trees. The airplane continued to descend and impacted the ground hard short of the runway. The fuselage and firewall sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that his attention should have been focused more outside the cockpit during the base turn and final approach and that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN20CA026 for the full record.