# Incident 20250702008969I: Republic RC-3, Grants, NM, July 2, 2025

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 2, 2025, 11:10 local time
- Place: Grants, NM
- Airport: Grants-Milan Municipal Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1673° N, 107.9021° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at GRANTS-MILAN MUNI (GNT), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1673&lon=-107.9021&mi=10
- Aircraft: N451Z, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N451Z) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Republic RC-3 (registry code 3080202, https://openairdocs.org/model/republic-rc-3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: GM LS3 (registry code 30905, https://openairdocs.org/engine/gm-ls3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: REPUBLIC RC-3
- Reported engine: GM LS3
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 3,800 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250702008969I

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 2, 2025, A REPUBLIC RC-3 AIRCRAFT WAS INVOLVED IN A LANDING INCIDENT AT KGNT AIRPORT AFTER JUST DEPARTING ON A VFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT TO KGUP.  THERE WAS NO FLIGHT PLAN ON FILE AND THE SOLE OCCUPANT / PILOT WAS NOT INJURED.  AIRCRAFT DEPARTED VFR KGNT AT APPROXIMATELY 10:45 FOR KGUP.  FUEL ONBOARD WAS 60 GALLONS.  ABOUT 8 NAUTICAL MILES WEST OF KGNT AT AROUND 7800 MSL THE ENGINE LOST CONSIDERABLE POWER AND RPM WITH NO WARNING. AFTER TURNING BACK TO KGNT THE AIRCRAFT COULD ONLY MAINTAIN AT A 500 FOOT PER MINUTE DESCENT. THIS WAS INSUFFICIENT TO REACH THE RUNWAY AT KGNT. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SOUTH AND WEST OF THE RUNWAY IN TALL GRASS WHERE THE WING PONTOONS AND LANDING GEAR WERE DAMAGED, NO OTHER DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED. THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AFTER LANDING AND HAD TO BE SHUT DOWN.  AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN CONVERTED TO AN AUTOMOTIVE-TYPE V8 ENGINE WITH A CHAIN DRIVEN PROPELLER SPEED REDUCTION UNIT AND WAS REGISTERED EXPERIMENTAL EXHIBITION.  ENGINE TURNED FREELY, HAD FULL OIL, AND FULL ENGINE COOLANT.  THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF WHY THE ENGINE LOST ITS ABILITY TO MAINTAIN FULL POWER.

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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