Bates STARDUSTER SA-300 N2369

Summary

On 27 October 2012 at about 16:00 local time, a Bates STARDUSTER SA-300 registered N2369 was involved in an accident near Reklaw, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 October 2012 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Reklaw, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Flying M Ranch (7TA7)

Coordinates

31.8397, -94.9611

Aircraft

Bates STARDUSTER SA-300

Registration

N2369

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mesquite → Reklaw

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA037

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a noseover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was landing on a private grass airstrip and that the grass was wet from the previous night’s rain. He stated that the airstrip was not flat and had sections that rolled up and down. He added that the airplane touched down harder than usual, which caused the landing gear to spread outward on the wet grass. The engine’s propeller was then low enough to contact the rising terrain, and the airplane nosed over. A witness reported that the airplane bounced on the runway about three times before the airplane nosed over. The airplane came to rest in the inverted position, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, top wings, and the engine firewall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.