- Date
- September 13, 2025, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cave Junction, OR
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N139SBBriseno Samuel Kolb Firefly
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250913015429A
- Case key
- 201042
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 non-certificated pilot's improper landing flare in turbulent wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 4
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 non-certificated pilot reported that, during his first flight in the recently purchased airplane, he encountered turbulence on the base and final legs of the airport traffic pattern. While on the final approach to land, the airplane encountered a gust of wind that resulted in a hard landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage and lift struts. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident he was landing on runway 36 with wind variable at 5 knots, gusting to 10 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N139SB
- Reported as
- Briseno Samuel Kolb Firefly
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- FF00-2-00013
- Built
- 2003
- Airframe hours
- 356.2
- Engine
- Rotax 447, 40 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 12, 2024
- Airport
- 3S4 · Illinois Valley, runway 36, 4,807 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Airframe parachute
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
- 71
- Injuries
- Serious
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KBOK, 27 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KBOK 131656Z AUTO 00000KT 9SM OVC006 13/13 A3002 RMK AO2 RAB24E37 CIG 004V007 SLP163 P0000 T01330128=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 4, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.7 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.