# NTSB ERA21LA145: George Matthew Wagoner Zenith 601 HD, N2614, Englewood, FL, February 27, 2021 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: February 27, 2021, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC) - Place: Englewood, FL - Coordinates: 26.990081, -82.374018 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.9901&lon=-82.3740&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 102700 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA21LA145 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/102700/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102700 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA145 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inadequate compensation for gusty wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing. The rough terrain of the runway also contributed to the outcome. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=056343K), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Wind: gusts](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensation (probable cause); cases with it: [George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045/cases.md?model=056343K), [All aircraft, 1,199 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045/cases.md) - [Terrain: rough terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome (probable cause); cases with it: [George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015/cases.md?model=056343K), [All aircraft, 442 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=056343K), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=056343K), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was approaching the runway for landing and said that the airplane suddenly encountered a high sink rate due to “wind shear.” The pilot tried to add engine power to compensate, but the airplane landed on the main landing gear and bounced. Once the airplane settled back onto the turf runway, the nosewheel struck a hole in the ground, which he believed was a gopher tortoise burrow. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the underside of the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged. A weather reporting station at an airport 6 nautical miles from the accident location reported that a right quartering headwind at 10 knots, gusting to 18 knots, existed about the time of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2614](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2614), registered now, S/N 6-8820, built 2017 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GEORGE MATTHEW WAGONER ZENITH 601 HD (NO SERIES) - Registry model: [George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD](https://openairdocs.org/model/george-matthew-wagoner-zenith-601-hd) (registry code 056343K) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 912ULS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912uls-series) (registry code 55572, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 6-8820 - Year built: 2017 - Airframe hours: 62.5 - Engines: Rotax 912 ULS 100 hp reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Unknown - Last inspection: Condition, October 27, 2020 - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: X36, Buchan, runway 12, 2,000 × 100 ft, grass/turf - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 64; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; last flight review July 28, 2017; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 348 total, 75 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days, 5.1 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 140° at 10 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 30.20 inHg - Observed at: VNC, 6 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20210227000799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210227000799A), Feb 27, 2021: George Matthew Wagoner ZENITH 601 HD, Englewood, FL, Substantial damage. On February 27, 2021, at 1015 EST, an experimental zenith 601 hd, N2614, [privacy data omitted] landed short of runway 12 at Englewood, FL (X36). Visual… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 16, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102700. 2.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12055798&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120%20Completed_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 2 photos, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12055489&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.