- Date
- December 30, 2025, 10:54 local (16:54 UTC)
- Place
- Gulf Shores, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N601BAIcon A5
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2026
- 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
- 20251230020109A
- Case key
- 202233
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
A nose landing gear collapse during landing.
Findings · 1
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 and the flight instructor onboard the amphibious airplane were conducting a normal landing to a paved runway. The pilots reviewed the before landing checklist and confirmed that the landing gear was down and locked utilizing the position switch, indicator light, and visually. Once the airplane touched down, the nose landing gear collapsed resulting in substantial damage to the lower fuselage. Following the accident, the pilot did not respond to multiple attempts to coordinate an examination of the airplane or facilitate an interview of the maintenance personnel who examined the airplane after the accident. The pilot did provide a video that depicted maintenance personnel narrating and showing the landing gear handle in the down position while the landing gear actuator switch was in the up position and the corresponding nose landing gear was in the up position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N601BA
- Reported as
- Icon A5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 00217
- Built
- 2024
- Airframe hours
- 299
- Engine
- Rotax 912 IS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Aeromarine Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · July 1, 2025 · 99 hours before
- Departed
- DTS · Destin, FL
- Destination
- JKA · Gulf Shores, AL
- Airport
- JKA · Gulf Shores Intl/Jack Edwards Fld, runway 17/35, 3,596 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, Airframe parachute, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 235 total · 159 in this make and model · 14 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,300 total · 0 in this make and model · 4,200 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 11 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.26 inHg
- Observed at
- JKA
- METAR
- METAR KJKA 301855Z 36011G22KT 330V030 10SM CLR 10/M07 A3026
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 21, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.6 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.