- Date
- February 25, 2001, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lafayette, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N777SBBartels Rans S-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010225004659A
- Case key
- 51819
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 improper flare which resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was practicing soft and short field landings at the private grass airstrip. He completed 15 landings to runway 09 and configured the airplane for a simulated engine failure and a short field landing. He stated that during the landing flare, the airplane "hit hard," and the right main landing gear failed. Subsequently, the airplane traveled 36 feet and came to rest inverted.
Factual narrative
On February 25, 2001, at 1730 central standard time, a Bartels Rans S-7 amateur-built airplane, N777SB, was substantially damaged during a hard landing on a private grass airstrip near Lafayette, Louisiana. The private pilot, who was the registered owner of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from the Abbeville Chris Crusta Memorial Airport, Abbeville, Louisiana, at 1700.
The pilot reported that he was practicing soft and short field landings at the private grass airstrip, which is located 5 miles northeast of Abbeville. He completed 15 landings to runway 09 and configured the airplane for a simulated engine failure and a short field landing. He stated that during the landing flare, the airplane "hit hard," and the right main landing gear failed. Subsequently, the airplane traveled 36 feet and came to rest inverted.
According to the FAA inspector, who examined the airplane at the airstrip, the right main landing gear separated from the airframe and the fuselage was buckled. The left wing-tip and wing strut were structurally damaged. He added that two blades of the three-bladed propeller separated.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N777SB
- Reported as
- Bartels Rans S-7
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0795150RA
- Airframe hours
- 150.2
- Engine
- Rotax 912S, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard D. Richard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · June 21, 2000 · 106.1 hours before
- Departed
- 0R3 · Abbeville, LA
- Destination
- NONE · Lafayette, LA
- Airport
- NONE · Private Strip, runway 09, 2,400 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 27, 1999
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 830 total · 108 in this make and model · 746 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.