- Date
- March 21, 2014, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Crockett, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N284DSDonald G Stokes Challenger II
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20140321003579A
- Case key
- 88962
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 maintain control of the airplane, resulting in a hard landing.
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 said that as he made his approach, the airplane contacted the top strand of a wire and the right wing clipped a brush pile, resulting in a hard landing. He said the wind was gusty at the time. Both wings were punctured by tree branches and the lift struts and braces were buckled. The nose and left main landing gears had collapsed, buckling the fuselage. There was also a fabric tear in the vertical stabilizer. No pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the pilot.
Factual narrative
In his accident report, the pilot said that as he made his approach, "a gust of wind pushed [the airplane] near the trees [lying] next to the [air]strip, where the [air]plane['s] right wing caught a brush pile which caused the [air]plane to have a hard landing." In his statement to the Texas Department of Public Safety, however, the pilot said the airplane contacted the top strand of a wire, "causing the {air]plane to pull to the right and strike some piled up fence row clippings with right wing and [air]plane hit the ground collapsing left landing gear." Both wings were punctured by tree branches and the lift struts and braces were buckled. The nose and left main landing gears had collapsed, buckling the fuselage. There was also a fabric tear on the vertical stabilizer. No pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N284DS
- Reported as
- Donald G Stokes Challenger II (UNDESIGNAT)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH2-0911-LSS-L65-019
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 11
- Engine
- Rotex 582 DCDI, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Stokes Donald G
- Registered owner
- Stokes Donald G
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · March 13, 2014 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Crockett, TX
- Destination
- NONE · Crockett, TX
- Airport
- NONE · None, runway 18, 2,300 × 50 ft, grass/turf
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
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Sport Pilot, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Last flight review
- August 23, 2013
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,198 total · 11 in this make and model · 2,082 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 7 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- DKR, 2 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 14, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.0 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.