Event CEN20CA059

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that the flight was the first flight of the experimental amateur- built airplane. He was landing at the airport when the accident occurred. He stated that he was lined up with the runway center line, that his airspeed was 60 mph, and the tachometer registered 1,600 rpm, when he felt the right tire contact the runway. He said, "In an instant the left wing came down and the left tire and axle [were] sheared off. The left wing contacted the runway and the plane skidded about 40 feet and came to a full stop." The pilot stated he used a higher landing airspeed since he had been told by other builders of that airplane that he needed to land with speed "so as not get near the stall speed as this aircraft does have leading edge slats and this equates to a high lift wing." The pilot stated that the wind was calm, the altimeter setting was 30.12 inches, and the temperature was 55°F. The wind recorded at an airport 8 miles north of the accident airport was from 200° at 12 knots. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left wing tip was bent up, the nose landing gear "U" channel was bent 90°, and the skin around the left wing strut and landing gear attachment points were buckled. There were no reported preimpact anomalies with the airplane. The pilot reported that the flight was the first flight of the experimental, amateur-built airplane. He stated that he was lined up with the runway centerline for landing, that the airspeed was 60 mph, and that the tachometer was showing 1,600 rpm when he felt the right tire contact the runway. He said "in an instant the left wing came down and the left tire and axle [were] sheared off. The left wing impacted the runway and the plane skidded about 40 feet and came to a full stop." The pilot used a higher landing airspeed because he had been told by other builders of that airplane that he needed to land with speed "so as not [to] get near the stall speed as this aircraft does have leading edge slats and this equates to a high lift wing." Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear and the left wing strut sustained substantial damage. 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-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C