NTSB CEN21LA370 — 2021-08-07 · Brainerd, Minnesota, United States

Current FAA registration · N234HW

Make / Model: JUST AIRCRAFT LLC HIGHLANDER
Year of manufacture: 2012 · 9 years old at event
Engine: ROTAX 912 (80 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20121116
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A21820

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N234HW MARLOWE THOOFT JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during a crosswind landing that resulted in an impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he was flying an approach in a 90-degree, 20 knot crosswind, when during the landing on the grass runway, the wind pushed the airplane sideways and it subsequently impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the wind was 080o at 8 knots with gusts to 17 knots. The pilot reported he was attempting to make a short field landing and was “flying below stall speed”. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_CEN21LA370.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers