North American AT 6D N6432D accident near Chino, California

Probable cause

The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and his subsequent exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, during his ninth touch-and-go landing and shortly after touchdown, the airplane bounced. He wanted to apply partial power and continue to land, but he heard the safety pilot declare, "I have," so the pilot responded, "you have," and gave the controls to the safety pilot. The safety pilot reported that, during landing, the left main landing gear touched down on the runway first, followed by the right main landing gear, and the airplane "popped up" with a nose-high attitude. The airplane started to climb, continued to pitch higher, and rolled right, so he took the controls, applied power, and lowered the nose, but the right wingtip struck the ground, and the airplane impacted terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and truss. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA19CA493 for the full record.