What happened
The aircraft was conducting a standard approach to land at an airport. During the final segment of the flight, the pilot developed a perception that the airplane was positioned too high above the runway centerline. To correct this perceived altitude error, the pilot increased the rate of descent toward the touchdown zone.
As the aircraft approached the flare point, approximately 20 feet above the runway surface, the airspeed decayed rapidly. The airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and impacted the runway hard on the nose landing gear. Recognizing the situation, the pilot promptly initiated a go-around procedure. The aircraft was successfully flown away from the runway, and the pilot subsequently returned to land without further incident.
The investigation
The examination of the event focused on the pilot's decision-making process during the final approach phase. The primary finding was that the pilot's misjudgment of altitude led to an excessive descent rate. This aggressive control input resulted in the loss of airspeed and the subsequent stall at a low altitude.
Findings
The accident sequence was driven by spatial disorientation or misperception of altitude during the critical flare phase. The pilot's corrective action of increasing the descent rate instead of maintaining a stabilized approach directly caused the stall. The successful execution of the go-around prevented any damage to the aircraft or injury to the occupants.