Flight Design GMBH CTLS accident near Ray, Michigan, June 28, 2021
On June 28, 2021 at about 11:30 pm local time, a 2010 Flight Design GMBH CTLS, registered N920SS, suffered minor damage in an accident near Ray, Michigan (Ray Community airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor’s improper decision to direct the student pilot to exit the airplane with the engine running, which resulted in serious injury when the student walked into the propeller arc.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 28, 2021 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ray, Michigan · Ray Community · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Flight Design GMBH CTLS, built 2010 · all CTLSs on the register
- Registration
- N920SS · registry record · serial F-10-02-05
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor was conducting the 16-year-old student pilot’s first instructional flight. After completing several takeoffs and landings, they “taxied around the airport multiple times,” during which they experienced “light to sometimes moderate” rain. At the conclusion of the lesson, the rain became heavy enough that visibility was reduced, and the instructor decided to taxi the airplane into its open hangar to avoid getting wet. As they approached the hangar, the instructor noted a set of wheel chocks on the ground, and with the engine still running, he instructed the student to exit the airplane, walk around the propeller arc, and move the chocks so that he, “could taxi the airplane nose-first into the hangar…then turn it around once inside and shut down.” He stated that he repeated the instructions to ensure that the student understood. The student subsequently exited the airplane and walked forward into the spinning propeller, resulting in serious injury. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- AC/prop/rotor contact w person defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 571 hours in all; 4.2 in this make and model; 1,080.9 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 46.6 as pilot in command; 37 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 14, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,315 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 2, 2021; 45.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 2,315 hours total
The flight
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from KMTC, 8 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KMTC 282256Z 00000KT 10SM -SHRA SCT040 BKN050 BKN250 26/26 A3011 RMK AO2A LTG DSNT NW SHRAB24 CB 12NW MOV NE SLP197 P0011 T02600260 $=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on February 9, 2022. 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 | CFI Additional Statement | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Statement from Club President | PDF, 2 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.