# NTSB CEN16LA242: Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro Sportcruiser, N236SC, Wyoming, MN, July 2, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 1, 2016, 22:06 local (Jul 2, 2016, 03:06 UTC) - Place: Wyoming, MN - Coordinates: 45.336387, -93.004447 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.3364&lon=-93.0044&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report December 12, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA Minneapolis FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 93524 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN16LA242 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93524/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93524 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA242 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inadequate flight planning and navigation for a flight at night, which resulted in his having to conduct a precautionary landing on an interstate highway due to low fuel and impacting the post of a wire road divider. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Planning/preparation: flight planning/navigation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061025): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061025/cases.md?model=060002O), [All aircraft, 179 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061025/cases.md) - [Light condition: dark](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036020): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on personnel; cases with it: [Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036020/cases.md?model=060002O), [All aircraft, 448 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036020/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: wall/barricade](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022027): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022027/cases.md?model=060002O), [All aircraft, 29 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022027/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=060002O), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=060002O), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis The sport pilot was conducting a personal local flight at night. The pilot reported that he was unable to locate the destination airport because it was dark. The airplane was low on fuel, so he decided to land the airplane on an interstate highway. During the landing roll, the airplane's right wing hit a wire road divider post, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot stated that the airplane did not have any mechanical failures during the flight. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative **This report was modified on August 16, 2016. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.** On July 1, 2016, about 2206 central daylight time, a Czech Aircraft Works Sportcruiser, N236SC, sustained substantial damage during an off airport landing on Interstate Highway 35 (I-35) near Wyoming, Minnesota. The sport pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the flight, which was not on a flight plan. The flight departed the Cambridge Municipal Airport (CBG), Cambridge, Minnesota, about 2000 on a local flight. The pilot stated to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he could not find CBG because it was dark. The airplane was low on fuel and he could not see an airport beacon, so he landed the airplane on a road, which turned out to be I-35. During the landing roll, he attempted to maneuver the airplane into the ditch between the northbound and southbound lanes of the highway to avoid the traffic on the highway. The airplane's right wing hit the post of a wire road divider causing substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot stated that the airplane did not have any mechanical failures while airborne. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N236SC](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N236SC), registered now, S/N 07SC078, built 2007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CZECH AIRCRAFT WORKS SPOL SRO SPORTCRUISER - Registry model: [Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER](https://openairdocs.org/model/czech-aircraft-works-spol-sro-sportcruiser) (registry code 060002O) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 912S series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912s-series) (registry code 55570, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 07SC078 - Year built: 2007 - Airframe hours: 477 - Engines: ROTAX 912S 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Condition, May 29, 2016, 3 hours before - Departed: CBG, Cambridge, MN - Destination: CBG, Cambridge, MN - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 79; injuries: minor; sport pilot; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: sport pilot; last flight review March 14, 2014; seat: left; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 957 total, 477 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 130° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: ANE, 14 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20160701012069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160701012069A), Jul 1, 2016: Czech Aircraft Works Spol Sro SPORTCRUISER, Forest Lake, MN, Substantial damage. Pilot was returning from cross country flight and became lost and disoriented at night. Pilot was a private pilot operating as a light sport pilot in a light… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 8, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93524. 1.2 MB in all. - NTSB Record of Conversation (item 1, .PDF, 88 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442959&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=NTSB%20Record%20of%20Conversation-Master.PDF - Condition Aircraft Inspection (item 2, .PDF, 152 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442960&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Condition%20Aircraft%20Inspection-Master.PDF - FAA Photos of Airplane Wreckage (item 3, .PDF, 4 photos, 941 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442961&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Photos%20of%20Airplane%20Wreckage-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.