# Incident 20210104003289I: Aviat Aircraft Inc A-1C-180, Culebra, PR, January 4, 2021

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 4, 2021, 10:50 local time
- Place: Culebra, PR
- Airport: Benjamin Rivera Noriega
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 18.3130° N, 65.3039° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BENJAMIN RIVERA NORIEGA (CPX), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=18.3130&lon=-65.3039&mi=10
- Aircraft: N271TM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N271TM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aviat A-1C-180 (registry code 2210410, https://openairdocs.org/model/aviat-a-1c-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O-360-A1P (registry code 42259, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-360-a1p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-180
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O-360-A1P
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,510 total, 350 in this make and model, 45 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210104003289I

## Narrative

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

ON JANUARY 4, 2021, ABOUT 1450Z, AN AVIAT A-1C-180, TAIL NUMBER N271TM, SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON RUNWAY 13 AT BENJAMIN RIVERA NORIEGA AIRPORT (TJCP) LOCATED AT CULEBRA PUERTO RICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATING UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 AS A PRIVATE FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM ANTONIO RIVERA RODRIGUEZ AIRPORT (TJVQ) AT ABOUT 1435Z ON A NORTHEAST HEADING DIRECT TO TJCP. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, STATED THAT WHILE ON ROUTE TO TJCP THE WINDS REPORTED ON HIS AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS WAS 12 KNOTS AT 1,500 FEET. HE STATED THAT HE EXECUTED THE BASE APPROACH TOWARDS RUNWAY 13 AT 1000 FEET OVER FLAMENCO BEACH AND PROCEEDED BETWEEN TWO HILLS WITH SLIGHT TURBULENCE. WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 13, HE OBSERVED THE WINDSOCK POINTING STRAIGHT DOWN THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT CONTINUED HIS APPROACH AND FLARED TO TOUCH DOWN IN A THREE-POINT LANDING AT OR ABOUT 1/4 TO 1/3 FROM THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD. SOON AFTER TOUCHING DOWN, THE PILOT STATED THAT A STRONG WIND GUST STIRRED THE AIRCRAFT NOSE TO THE RIGHT AND HE THEN APPLIED FULL POWER TO EXECUTE A GO AROUND. AT THAT MOMENT, THE AIRCRAFT APPARENTLY WAS AIRLIFTED BUT THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO STEER TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT LOST LIFT AND FELL TO THE RUNWAY. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PILOT LOSS CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT, SKID OFF THE RUNWAY AND CAME INTO A STOP IN A GRASS AREA LOCATED SOUTH OF THE RUNWAY BETWEEN THE RUNWAY AND TAXIWAY. BASED ON THE PICTURES TAKEN BY AN AIRPORT PORTS AUTHORITY EMPLOYEE THAT WITNESS THE INCIDENT, THE APPROXIMATE DISTANCE FROM THE RUNWAY 13 THRESHOLD TO THE POINT AT WHICH THE AIRCRAFT CAME INTO A STOP WAS 1,700 FEET.

THE PICTURES PROVIDED PRESENT DAMAGE TO THE LANDING GEAR STRUCTURE, PROPELLER AND FUSELAGE. THE LEFT LANDING GEAR STRUCTURE AND WHEEL ASSEMBLY WERE SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT, A PORTION OF THE PROPELLER BLADE WAS SEPARATED FROM THE PROPELLER ASSEMBLY AND A SECTION AT THE LOWER FORWARD FUSELAGE AFT OF THE FIREWALL EXHIBITED BULGING DAMAGE.

FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE LEFT LANDING GEAR STRUCTURE WAS DETACHED FROM THE FUSELAGE DUE TO EXCESSIVE SIDE LOADS DURING THE LANDING SEQUENCE. THE PIC CONFIRMED THAT HE WAS APPLYING LEFT RUDDER PRESSURE TO CORRECT RIGHT NOSE TENDENCIES AS HE ENCOUNTERED A LOW LEVEL WINSHEAR SCENARIO. HE STATES THAT HIS FLIGHT CONTROL INPUTS DID NOT CORRECT THE RIGHT NOSE TENDENCY EVEN AS HE ATTEMPTED TO EXECUTE A GO-AROUND. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SIDEWAYS IN RELATION TO ITS FORWARD MOTION, PRODUCING EXCESSIVE LOAD TO THE LANDING GEAR STRUCTURE, ULTIMATELY ENDING IN THE FAILURE OF THE COMPONENT.

## Other reports on N271TM (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20260410007329I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260410007329I), Apr 10, 2026: Aviat Aircraft Inc A-1C-180 (N271TM), Humacao, PR, Minor damage. On April 10, 2026, around 0756 hrs (local), an Aviat A-1C-180 sustained minor damage to its propeller while taxiing out of runway 09 at Hermenegildo Ortiz…

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.

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