Primary finding
Probable cause
The student pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The flight instructor and student pilot were practicing landings in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The flight instructor stated that on the second landing, the student pilot encountered a sink rate that he could not recover from, and the airplane landed hard, collapsing the right main landing gear, and sustaining substantial damage to the right wing lift strut. The instructor stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Source record
Factual narrative
The flight instructor and student pilot were practicing landings in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The flight instructor stated that on the second landing, the student pilot encountered a sink rate that he could not recover from, and the airplane landed hard, collapsing the right main landing gear, and sustaining substantial damage to the right wing lift strut. The instructor stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.