No fatalities

Wing Damage During Ballooned Landing

Knox, IN, United States

On March 21, 2018, a PIPER PA24 250 was involved in an aviation accident near Knox, IN. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The flight instructor’s improper landing flare, 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 landing, the student pilot's approach ballooned, leading the flight instructor to intervene. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing after landing.

Incident Overview

The flight instructor reported that during the landing phase, while the student pilot was flying the airplane, the aircraft ballooned. The instructor then took control of the flight controls and completed the landing on the runway.

Aircraft Damage

As a result of the landing event, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The extent of the damage necessitated repair or replacement of wing components.

Mechanical Condition

The flight instructor stated that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. This indicates that the aircraft was in a serviceable condition prior to the landing.

Contributing factors

Landing flare — Not attained/maintainedInstructor/check pilot