- Date
- August 24, 2016, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- St. Augustine, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N481SLArion Skys Open Sport Lightning
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 10, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20160824014079A
- Case key
- 94062
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 landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 3
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
According to the pilot of the experimental light-sport airplane, following a personal flight, he made a straight-in approach to runway 13. He recalled that the tower reported the wind as 070° at 12 knots. During the approach, the airplane encountered "convective turbulence," but he established a stabilized approach over the runway centerline. He remarked that, about 5 ft above the runway, the airplane encountered what he estimated to be a 20-knot or greater wind gust. He reported that the airplane ballooned and touched down on the nosewheel, the propeller struck the ground, and he used differential braking to stop the airplane on the runway. The nose landing gear separated from the airplane, and the engine mounts and the spar box sustained substantial damage. The METAR at the accident airport indicated that, at the time of the accident, the wind was 040° true at 12 knots. There were no METARs throughout the day at the accident airport that indicated wind gusts. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot in the experimental light-sport airplane, following a personal flight he made a straight-in approach to runway 13. He recalled that the tower reported the wind as 070° at 12 knots. During the approach the airplane encountered "convective turbulence," but he established a stabilized approach over the runway centerline. He remarked that about five feet above the runway the airplane encountered what he estimated to be a 20 knot or greater wind gust. He reported that the airplane ballooned, touched down on the nose wheel, the propeller struck the ground, and he used differential braking to stop the airplane on the runway. The nose landing gear separated from the airplane, and substantial damage was sustained to the engine mounts and the spar box. The meteorological aerodrome report (METAR) at the accident airport, indicated that at the time of the accident the wind was 040° true, at 12 knots. There were no METAR's throughout the day, at the accident airport, that indicated wind gusts. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N481SL
- Reported as
- Arion Skys Open Sport Lightning
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 121
- Built
- 2011
- Airframe hours
- 250
- Engine
- Jabiru 3300, 120 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 25, 2016
- Departed
- SYI · Shelbyville, TN
- Destination
- SGJ · St. Augustine, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- SGJ · Northeast Florida Rgnl, runway 13, 8,002 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 5, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 402 total · 9 in this make and model · 300 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KSGJ
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 22, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.9 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.