- Date
- March 4, 2025, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Zellwood, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N19535Wagoner Richard Searey
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 6, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250304005429A
- Case key
- 200195
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 inadequate compensation for gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing.
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 reported that, while on final approach in gusty wind conditions, everything “looked good.” Suddenly, the wind “stopped,” and the airplane dropped to the runway, which resulted in a hard landing. The airplane’s left main landing gear collapsed resulting in substantial damage to the wing and fuselage structure. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N19535
- Reported as
- Wagoner Richard Searey
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1MK419C
- Built
- 2024
- Airframe hours
- 25
- Engine
- Rotax 914UL2-01, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- FA83 · Orlando North Airpark, runway 27, 4,000 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Last flight review
- August 23, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,202 total · 105 in this make and model · 2,130 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- LEE, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KLEE 041453Z 13013KT 10SM CLR 22/16 A3013 RMK AO2 PK WND 11026/1436 SLP201 T02220156 50006=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 6, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8.3 MB 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.