- Date
- August 31, 2023, 16:13 local (21:13 UTC)
- Place
- Midlothian, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N11648Bellanca 7ECA
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: 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
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20230831022729A
- Case key
- 192979
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 landing which resulted in the right main landing gear collapse.
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 was familiarizing himself with the airplane in preparation for a multi-day cross-country flight. He also said that there was a potential that he would provide flight instruction to a student during the upcoming flights, so he wanted to perform three takeoffs and landings in the airplane to meet the recent flight experience requirements of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 61.57. He said that as he approached the airport, the reported weather indicated the wind was aligned with the runway. During the approach, he noted that the windsock showed a left crosswind, and he adjusted the approach using crosswind control correction for the left crosswind. During the rollout, the wind shifted, and the right wing rose. The pilot attempted to correct but when the wing came back down the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and the right main landing gear collapsed. He said that after the event the windsock showed a right crosswind and he believed that there was some windshear that resulted in the right wing raising during the event. The airplane received substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane. The recorded weather at the airport where the accident occurred was from 020° at 3 knots, about the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N11648
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 838-72
- Built
- 1972
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bruns Luke J
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- GPM · Grand Prairie, TX
- Airport
- JWY · Mid-Way Rgnl, runway 18, 6,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 24
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 650 total · 4 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 99 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- KJWY
- METAR
- METAR KJWY 312115Z AUTO 02003KT 10SM BKN100 BKN120 37/14 A2989 RMK AO2 T03660142=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 4, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 461 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.