- Date
- February 13, 2013, 08:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sabinal, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7824GCessna T206H
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of visual reference
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- FAA report
- 20130213004669A
- Case key
- 86516
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 failure to properly identify the airstrip, which resulted in him landing the airplane off of the airstrip in soft soil causing the nose over.
Findings · 4
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 was approaching to land on a private unimproved runway. The field immediately adjacent to the landing area had been recently plowed. The pilot was landing into the direction of the rising sun, which was just coming over the horizon as he was making his approach. The pilot mistakenly identified a plowed portion of the field for the intended landing area and proceeded to land on it. As he touched down, he noticed the landing area was softer than it should have been, so he kept the nose wheel off the ground as long as he could. The nose wheel finally set down in the soft dirt and dug in, resulting in the airplane flipping over on its back. Both of the airplane's wings, vertical stabilizer, and rudder received substantial damage.
Factual narrative
The pilot was approaching to land on a private unimproved runway. The field immediately adjacent to the landing area had been recently plowed. The pilot was landing into the direction of the rising sun, which was just coming over the horizon as he was making his approach. The pilot mistakenly identified a plowed portion of the field for the intended landing area and proceeded to land on it. As he touched down, he noticed the landing area was softer than it should have been, so he kept the nose wheel off the ground as long as he could. The nose wheel finally set down in the soft dirt and dug in, resulting in the airplane flipping over on its back. Both of the airplane's wings, vertical stabilizer, and rudder received substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7824G
- Reported as
- Cessna T206H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T20608704
- Airframe hours
- 924
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-AJ1A, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 9, 2012
- Departed
- IWS · Houston, TX
- Destination
- Sabinal, TX
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
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 8, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 450 total · 58 in this make and model · 375 as pilot in command · 115 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KUVA, 10 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 14, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 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.