# NTSB ERA25LA165: Cessna S550, N627HS, Hilton Head Island, SC, March 19, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: March 19, 2025, 14:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place: Hilton Head Island, SC · Paved runway
- Coordinates: 32.224495, -80.697401
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2245&lon=-80.6974&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Landing: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 199958
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA165
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/199958/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA165

## Preliminary report

On March 19, 2025, about 1445 eastern daylight time, a Cessna S550 airplane, N627HS, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The airline transport pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, the airplane departed from Conway-Horry County Airport (HWY), Conway, South Carolina, and the enroute portion of the flight was uneventful. The pilot subsequently established the airplane on a stabilized approach to Hilton Head Airport (HXD), Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Upon selecting the landing gear to the down position, the three green gear safe lights illuminated, and he continued the approach. After touchdown, the nose gear collapsed as it contacted the runway. The pilot felt a bump, heard scraping, and as the airplane slowed, he turned to exit the runway. Initial examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the nose landing gear actuator was fractured. The landing gear bay and surrounding structure was ground down into the airframe with associated bucking. The nose landing gear actuator 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.

- [Landing: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna S550, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=2076607), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N627HS](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N627HS-2026-06-16), registration cancelled 2026-06-16, S/N S550-0072 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA S550
- Registry model: [Cessna S550](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-s550) (registry code 2076607) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-jt15d-4-series) (registry code 52112, turbo-fan) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: S550-0072
- Year built: 1985
- Airframe hours: 12849
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Tecs Zeltzer Elliot LLC
- Registered owner: Tecs Zeltzer Elliot LLC
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, February 4, 2025
- Departed: HYW, Conway, SC
- Destination: Same as departure
- Flight plan: IFR
- Airport: HXD, Hilton Head, runway 03/21, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Auto-pilot

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observed at: HXD, 1 nm away
- METAR: METAR KHXD 191850Z 18007KT 10SM CLR 21/09 A3004=

## 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 20250319002649A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250319002649A), Mar 19, 2025: Cessna S550, Hilton Head, SC, Substantial damage. Aircraft suffered an un-commanded nose landing gear (NLG) retraction event when landing at Hilton Head, SC (hxd). The lower forward section of the fuselage…

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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