- Date
- March 13, 2023, 11:52 local (17:52 UTC)
- Place
- Hotchkiss, CO · airstrip
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N235TTMaule M-7-235B
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: 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 Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20230313002119A
- Case key
- 106884
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 loss of control during landing rollout on a snow-covered, turf airstrip.
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 planned to land at a Bureau of Land Management backcountry landing strip he had previously visited over 100 times. After completing multiple low passes to assess the snow depth and overall conditions of the landing area, he executed a soft field landing in a 3-point, full stall attitude. During the rollout, the drag from the snow was greater than expected and he was unable to maintain control. The airplane nosed over at low speed and came to rest inverted. The vertical stabilizer, rudder, and right-wing struts sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N235TT
- Reported as
- Maule M-7-235B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23031C
- Built
- 1996
- Airframe hours
- 2,041
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J3A5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wild Country Aircraft LLC, doing business as N/A
- Registered owner
- Wild Country Aircraft LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2023 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- 2CO5 · Austin, CO
- Destination
- PVT · Hotchkiss, CO
- Airport
- PVT · BLM Airstrip, runway 18, 1,240 × 20 ft, snow
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 29, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 632 total · 250 in this make and model · 574 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- KAJZ, 13 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KAJZ 131735Z AUTO 10004KT 10SM CLR 08/02 A3013
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 20, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.5 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.