Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of aircraft control during the landing flare and subsequent aborted landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot reported that he misjudged the airplane’s distance to the runway during the landing flare, and the airplane bounced multiple times. He applied full engine power to abort the landing and retracted the flaps to 10°, but the airplane began to track to the left, and he reduced engine power to idle. The airplane then struck a taxiway sign, and the nose gear struck a concrete culvert. The airplane came to rest in the area between the runway and taxiway and sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and lower forward fuselage structure. The pilot reported there were no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.