Flight Design CTLS incident near Elyria, Ohio, October 17, 2012
On October 17, 2012 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Flight Design CTLS, registered N21ZA, suffered minor damage in an incident during landing (landing roll) near Elyria, Ohio (Lorain County Regional Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The manufacturing defects in the main landing gear leg, which resulted in its eventual failure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 2012 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Elyria, Ohio · Lorain County Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Flight Design CTLS
- Registration
- N21ZA · registry record · serial F-10-09-04
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that the airplane's fixed right main landing gear collapsed during landing. He reported that the landing was "not extraordinarily hard" and that it should have been well within the airplane's typical performance. Postincident examination of the composite right main landing gear leg revealed several manufacturing defects, including wrinkled layers and layers that terminated at the surface when they should have been continuous, which reduced the landing gear leg's strength and its ability to resist longitudinal cracks. As a result of this investigation, the airplane manufacturer conducted an audit of the subcontractor that manufactured the landing gear legs. The audit revealed that, before the incident, the landing gear manufacturer had become aware of quality issues related to the mold closing process of the landing gear legs during manufacture and had implemented steps to reduce the recurrence of these issues. Based on the available evidence, the manufacturing defects in the composite main landing gear leg likely reduced the leg's load-carrying capacity and resulted in its eventual failure.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main gear strut/axle/truck › Failure
- cause Organizational issues › Development › Manufacture/production › Equipment manufacture › Manufacturer
Flight instructor
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 910 hours in all; 425 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 30 hours in all; 30 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Zone Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: LPR Elyria OH
- Destination: LPR Elyria OH
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 5,002 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.77 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from LPR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N21ZA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.