What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Aircraft was flying from kfnl to keik at 1455 on August 18, 2025. Commerical flight instruction was given during this time. Weather was checked by both pilots and it was determined it was safe to fly to keik. Rwy 16 was picked for landing due to the winds being 5KTS at 220. They decided to fly straight into 16 upon approach to keik. Winds were gusting more than what Erie AWOS was reporting. At one point during the decent, the aircraft had a rapid sink and power was increased to correct. As they were crossing the threshold and getting ready to round out and flare, a strong gust of wind lifted the aircraft and made it unstable. Pilot tried to correct for sudden uplift but was unable to correct and hit the ground and slid off the runway.
As the FAA filed it
AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING FROM KFNL TO KEIK AT 1455 ON AUGUST 18, 2025. COMMERICAL FLIGHT INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN DURING THIS TIME.WEATHER WAS CHECKED BY BOTH PILOTS AND IT WAS DETERMINED IT WAS SAFE TO FLY TO KEIK. RWY 16 WAS PICKED FOR LANDING DUE TO THE WINDS BEING 5KTS AT 220. THEY DECIDED TO FLY STRAIGHT INTO 16 UPON APPROACH TO KEIK. WINDS WERE GUSTING MORE THAN WHAT ERIE AWOS WAS REPORTING. AT ONE POINT DURING THE DECENT, THE AIRCRAFT HAD A RAPID SINK AND POWER WAS INCREASED TO CORRECT. AS THEY WERE CROSSING THE THRESHOLD AND GETTING READY TO ROUND OUT AND FLARE, A STRONG GUST OF WIND LIFTED THE AIRCRAFT AND MADE IT UNSTABLE. PILOT TRIED TO CORRECT FOR SUDDEN UPLIFT BUT WAS UNABLE TO CORRECT AND HIT THE GROUND AND SLID OFF THE RUNWAY.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.