- Date
- December 1, 2020, 12:50 local (18:50 UTC)
- Place
- San Antonio, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N322SLHutson Star-Lite
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20201201020519A
- Case key
- 102388
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 decision to land on a soft terrain which resulted in the failure of the nose landing gear.
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 during the local flight and in the airport traffic pattern, he’d decided to land on the grass about 50 ft short of the asphalt runway. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear dug into the soft terrain which resulted in the failure of the nose landing gear. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount which was considered part of the airplane primary structure. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N322SL
- Reported as
- Hutson Star-Lite
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 121
- Built
- 2017
- Engine
- Rotax 447, 40 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · February 4, 2020 · 20 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 8T8 · San Geronimo Airpark, runway 17, 3,000 × 40 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 26, 2019
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 1 in this make and model · 629 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 11 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KHDO, 36 nm away
- METAR
- KHDO 011851Z AUTO 19011G16KT 10SM CLR 14/M06 A3012 RMK AO2 SLP196 T01441056
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 17, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 419 KB 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.