- Date
- August 7, 2021, 14:25 local (19:25 UTC)
- Place
- Brainerd, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N234HWMarlowe Thooft Just Acft Highlander
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- Federal Aviation Administration; Minneapolis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210807013499A
- Case key
- 103684
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 directional control during a crosswind landing that resulted in an impact with terrain.
Findings · 3
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 he was flying an approach in a 90-degree, 20 knot crosswind, when during the landing on the grass runway, the wind pushed the airplane sideways and it subsequently impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the wind was 080o at 8 knots with gusts to 17 knots. The pilot reported he was attempting to make a short field landing and was “flying below stall speed”.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N234HW
- Reported as
- Marlowe Thooft Just Acft Highlander
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JA262-03-12
- Built
- 2012
- Airframe hours
- 911
- Engine
- Rotax 912, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · June 26, 2021
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- BRD · Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport
- Equipment
- ADS-B, 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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- April 26, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,350 total · 908 in this make and model · 1,275 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 8 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- BRD
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 7, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 70.2 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.