- Date
- October 2, 2024, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Vernal, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N579LZLawrence M Zubel Loehle 5151 Mustang
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20241002021649A
- Case key
- 199974
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing which result in the left landing gear collapsing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, while landing, the airplane “bounced”, and he attempted to abort the landing and go-around. During the attempted go-around, the pilot was unable to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. The airplane subsequently landed hard, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N579LZ
- Reported as
- Lawrence M Zubel Loehle 5151 Mustang
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- LMZ-001
- Built
- 2020
- Airframe hours
- 1
- Engine
- Rotax 582DCDI-99, 64 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special); Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Condition · July 8, 2024 · 1 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- VEL · Vernal Regional, runway 17, 6,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Electronic multifunction display
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Sport pilot, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 1,253 total · 1 in this make and model · 1,184 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 57.5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 80 °F
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 13, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.