# Incident 20080809843299I: 582, Cortez, CO, August 9, 2008

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 9, 2008, 08:00 local time
- Place: Cortez, CO
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.3498° N, 108.5761° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Cortez, CO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3498&lon=-108.5761&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3330C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3330C-2022-12-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Topdog Ultralights 582 (registry code 05901KE, https://openairdocs.org/model/topdog-ultralights-582) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotax 582SER (registry code 55556, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-582ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: 582
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 500 total, 500 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080809843299I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) AIRCRAFT IS AN ELSA WEIGHT-SHIFT-CONTROL.  APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES WEST OF THE CORTEZ, CO AIRPORT (CEZ) THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT.  PILOT HEARD LOUD NOISE FROM ENGINE AREA AND IMMEDIATELY FELT VIBRATION SO SHUTOFF THE ENGINE.  GLIDED DOWN TO A ROUGH LANDING IN AN UNDEVELOPED AREA NEXT TO A ROAD.  DURING THE LANDING, AIRCRAFT NOSEWHEEL HIT A ROCK WHICH BENT AND BROKEN THE KEEL-TO-WING NOSE STRUT.  NO OTHER DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE LANDING PROCESS.  VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE PROPELLER REVEALED MAJOR DAMAGE AND DELAMINATION TO ONE PROP BLADE.  THE CAUSE OF THIS DAMAGE IS UNKNOWN AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE OCCURRED IN-FLIGHT, WHICH PROMPTED THE PILOT TO SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE IN-FLIGHT.  THE AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER STATES THAT THE KEEL-TO-WING NOSE STRUT IS NOT A STRUCTURAL COMPONENT.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.