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Atlas / NTSB / ERA25LA109

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA25LA109

2025-02-05 Weirsdale, Florida, United States Airport · 97FL Serious 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N811WJ

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV7A

Year of manufacture

2007 · 18 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-360-A1D (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20071212

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AB0F10

Registrant of record

NEAR WILLIAM J

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing and subsequent nose over.

Factual narrative

The pilot was landing the experimental amateur-built airplane on a turf runway, and had traveled about 1/3 the length of the runway when the airplane “lost energy” about 5 feet above ground level. The airplane then bounced as it crested a small hill before it landed “hard” on the nose landing gear. The nose landing gear subsequently dug into the soft, sandy soil and the airplane nosed over. The pilot was seriously injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts, empennage, and fuselage during the accident sequence. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s flight controls revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. 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).

  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Incorrect use/operation
  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA25LA109.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.