No fatalities

Student Pilot Stalls During Flare, Airplane Strikes Embankment During Landing Practice

Pittstown, NJ, United States

On March 8, 2011, a FLIGHT DESIGN CTSW operated by Dominick Bonanno was involved in an aviation accident near Pittstown, NJ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot's inadequate flare and the certified flight instructor's inadequate remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

During a landing practice, a student pilot stalled the airplane 3-5 feet above the runway, resulting in a hard landing, bounce, veer off the runway, and impact with an embankment, causing substantial damage to the left wing tip and fuselage.

Accident Details

According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was to practice landings. As the student pilot began to flare for landing, the airspeed decreased and the airplane stalled about 3 to 5 feet above the ground.

Sequence of Events

The airplane impacted the runway hard on the right main landing gear and bounced. The student pilot then applied full power. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway, traveled up an embankment, and the left wing impacted the ground.

Damage

During the accident sequence, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing tip and fuselage.

Pilot Reports

The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident.

Contributing factors

Landing flare — Not attained/maintainedInstructor/check pilotStudent pilot