NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN10CA238
Registry · N774A
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
LIGHT WING AIRCRAFT LLC SAVANNAH
Year of manufacture
2025
Engine
ROTAX 912ULS (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20250821
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA77E3
Registrant of record
THORSON MELVIN E
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's improper flare resulting in a hard landing and collapsed landing gear.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was performing high speed taxi testing of his tail wheel equipped amateur-built airplane. During one of the high speed taxi runs the airplane inadvertently became airborne. The pilot stated that he attempted to land but then decided to go airborne. He stated that he climbed to an altitude of about 3,000 feet and flew for approximately 40 minutes before returning to land. He stated that during the landing he was fast because he was attempting a wheel landing. He said that the airplane bounced and the airplane came back down hard. The airplane's retractable main landing gear collapsed and the airplane skidded to a stop on its belly. Examination of the airplane revealed that the eight landing gear attach bolts had pulled loose from the wing structure. The landing gear penetrated through the upper surface of the wing. The pilot reported that he was performing high speed taxi testing of his tailwheel-equipped amateur-built airplane. During one of the high speed taxi runs the airplane inadvertently became airborne. The pilot stated that he attempted to land, but then decided to go airborne. He stated that he climbed to an altitude of about 3,000 feet and flew for approximately 40 minutes before returning to land. He stated that during the landing he was fast because he was attempting a wheel landing. He said that the airplane bounced and the airplane came back down hard. The airplane's retractable main landing gear collapsed and the airplane skidded to a stop on its belly. Examination of the airplane revealed that the eight landing gear attach bolts had pulled loose from the wing structure. The landing gear penetrated through the upper surface of the wing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_CEN10CA238.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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