Amateur-built HATZ CB 1 accident near Red Wing, Minnesota, June 25, 2020
On June 25, 2020 at about 8:00 pm local time, a 1979 amateur-built HATZ CB 1, registered N35JA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Red Wing, Minnesota (Red Wing Rgnl airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to perform a go around following a bounced landing that resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 2020 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Red Wing, Minnesota · Red Wing Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built HATZ CB 1 No Series, built 1979
- Registration
- N35JA · no longer on the register · serial 20
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot was practicing landings with light wind present in his tailwheel airplane on an occasionally used grass area south of the paved runway. The pilot made one successful landing on the grass. During the next landing, the airplane bounced, which resulted in a nose up attitude. The pilot does not recall if he added engine power to remedy the bounced landing. However, the pilot did not perform a go-around as recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration Airplane Flying Handbook. The airplane stalled and impacted terrain in a nose low attitude. The propeller "dug in" the terrain and the airplane nosed over. The airplane subsequently sustained substantial empennage damage. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during landing defining event
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,804 hours in all; 12.5 in this make and model; 5.3 in the last 90 days; 2.5 in the last 30 days; 1,602 as pilot in command; 57 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 26, 2018
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 485 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 20, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A3B (piston); 485 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RGK Red Wing MN at 7:30 pm
- Destination: RGK Red Wing MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 5,010 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 8:35 pm from KRGK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on October 9, 2020. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.