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CEN10CA195

2010-04-06 · Eveleth, Minnesota, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 9Y5

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were taking the airplane to the local airport in order to have an annual inspection completed on the airplane. During the landing roll on the grass runway (1,900 feet long by 120 feet wide), the landing gear encountered soft terrain. Subsequently, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the left wing contacted terrain. Examination of the airplane revealed the left wing was bent aft at the wing root. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot stated that the airport owner told them someone had landed on the grass runway earlier that day so they decided the surface was adequate for landing. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were flying the airplane to a local airport in order to have an annual inspection completed. During the landing roll on the grass runway, the landing gear encountered soft terrain. Subsequently, the nose landing gear collapsed and the left wing contacted terrain. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left wing was bent aft at the wing root. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot stated that the airport owner told them someone had landed on the grass runway earlier that day so they decided the surface was adequate for landing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Wet/muddy-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_CEN10CA195.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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