- Date
- May 29, 2025, 10:50 local (15:50 UTC)
- Place
- Hope, AR
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N873YDNelson Special
- 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
- 20250529007679A
- Case key
- 200247
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 airplane control during the landing roll.
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 during the landing roll in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, he applied the brakes, and the airplane subsequently nosed down; the propeller then struck the runway surface. The airplane came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot stated that the wind was gusty at the time of the landing. He reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N873YD
- Reported as
- Nelson Special
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1931
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 2
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 2, 2025 · 6 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- M18 · Hope Municipal Airport, runway 16/34, 5,501 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 93
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- June 3, 2025
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 2 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KTXK, 23 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KTXK 291553Z 21008KT 10SM BKN017 27/21 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP171 T02670206=
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.