Magnaghi Aeronautica Spa SKY ARROW LSA accident near West Lafayette, Indiana, June 27, 2022
On June 27, 2022 at about 5:30 pm local time, a 2013 Magnaghi Aeronautica Spa SKY ARROW LSA, registered N458SA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed while landing in gusting winds, which resulted in a hard landing and a runway excursion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 27, 2022 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- West Lafayette, Indiana · Purdue University · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Magnaghi Aeronautica Spa SKY ARROW LSA NO SERIES, built 2013 · all SKY ARROW LSAs on the register
- Registration
- N458SA · registry record · serial LSA 023
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during the approach, the airplane encountered wind gusts. During the landing as the pilot reduced power and began the landing flare, the airplane continued to descend. The pilot realized there was a problem but did not have time to initiate a go around. The airplane struck the ground hard and went off the side of the runway coming to a stop in the grass. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the landing gear box. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the airplane was landing on runway 28 with winds 310o at 12 knots with gusts to 20 knots.
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
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Gusts › Response/compensation
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 40 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 8 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,191 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 3, 2022; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS2 (piston); 1,191 hours total
- Operator: Philly Sport Pilot LLC
The flight
- Departed from: LAF Lafayette IN at 4:00 pm
- Destination: LAF Lafayette IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 6,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 24°F (-4°C), dew point 8°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.24 inHg
- Observation at 12:10 pm from LAF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN22LA292.