- Date
- December 16, 2025, 17:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N472APiper PA-28-181
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20251216019059A
- Case key
- 202198
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot’s improper landing flare and the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent nose landing gear collapse.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor reported that the student pilot began the landing flare too high, then suddenly pitched the airplane up 10 to 15 degrees. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and added engine power but the airplane landed hard, bounced, and began to porpoise down the runway, during which the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and engine mount. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N472A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2843744
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 7,988.7
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Archer Aircraft LLC, doing business as ATP Flight School
- Registered owner
- Archer Aircraft LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 24, 2025 · 29 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FXE · Fort Lauderdale Exec, runway 09/27, 6,002 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B, Stall warning system
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 16 total · 16 in this make and model · 16 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 7, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 396 total · 341 in this make and model · 315 as pilot in command · 145 in the last 90 days · 55 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 14 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- FLL
- METAR
- METAR KFLL 162153Z 06014G21KT 10SM SCT035 BKN050 22/14 A3012 RMK AO2 SLP198 T02220144 $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 21, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.