“The pilot’s continuation of an unstabilized approach despite recognizing associated cues and the flight crew’s decision not to initiate a go-around before touchdown, which resulted in a bounced landing, a loss of airplane control, a landing gear collapse, and a runway excursion.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. plane crash wreckageJim UtterEarnhardt, his wife Amy, their daughter Isla, a family dog and two pilots all escaped serious injury when the Cessna 680A on which they were flying ran off the runway at Elizabethton (Tenn.) Municipal Airport upon landing on Aug. 15, 2019.

Earnhardt was on his way to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway to take part in NBC Sports’ broadcast of the weekend’s Cup and Xfinity series races at the track.

In the days following the accident, Earnhardt said his lower back “is bruised up real bad” and he had “lots of swelling.”

According to the NTSB final report, as the plane was making its approach to the airport, terrain alert warnings sounded in the aircraft.

The report also cited the pilots for not properly using the speed brakes and thrust reversers to stop the plane, and because of that, they lost the ability to go around and make a second attempt at landing.