# NTSB ERA25LA116: Mackey Property Holdings Sparker, N769DM, Asheboro, NC, February 11, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: February 11, 2025, 06:35 local (11:35 UTC)
- Place: Asheboro, NC
- Coordinates: 35.655695, -79.894193 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.6557&lon=-79.8942&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 199685
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA116
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/199685/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA116

## Preliminary report

On February 11, 2025, about 0635 eastern standard time, an experimental amateur-built Sparker, N769DM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Asheboro, North Carolina. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported completing a normal preflight inspection and engine start. Shortly after departure the engine made an unusual sound, which was followed by a partial loss of power. The pilot reported feeling “an aggressive buck forward” which quickly became more severe. The pilot turned the airplane back to the airport and attempted to land in the opposite direction on the departure runway. The pilot tried to extend the airplane’s landing gear, but they did not fully extend and upon touchdown the landing gear collapsed. The airplane subsequently slid off the side of the runway and over a taxiway. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector found that the airplane had incurred substantial damage during the accident sequence and that the horizontal stabilizer had separated from the empennage. The airplane was retained for further examination.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342); cases with it: [Mackey Property Holdings SPARKER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=05642W4), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md)
- [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Mackey Property Holdings SPARKER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=05642W4), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md)
- [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Mackey Property Holdings SPARKER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=05642W4), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N769DM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N769DM), registered now, S/N 24 SP 08, built 2024 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Mackey Property Holdings LLC Sparker
- Registry model: [Mackey Property Holdings SPARKER](https://openairdocs.org/model/mackey-property-holdings-sparker) (registry code 05642W4) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 916 IS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-916-is-series) (registry code 55622, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 08SP24
- Year built: 2024
- Airframe hours: 29.9
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination: SVH, Statesville, NC
- Airport: HBI, Asheboro Rgnl, runway 21, 5,501 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: ADS-B, Airframe parachute, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dawn
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 6,000 ft overcast
- Temperature: 36 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter: 30.36 inHg
- Observed at: HBI
- METAR: KHBI 111130Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM OVC060 02/M01 A3036 RMK AO2 T00211010

## 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 20250211002989A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250211002989A), Feb 11, 2025: Mackey Property Holdings LLC SPARKER, Asheboro, NC, Substantial damage. Pilot performed preflight, a run up no problems noted. Aircraft taxiied to the runway and lined up, went full power and 68 knots rotated. At 900 feet pilot…

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.

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