Amateur-built EXCALIBUR accident near Mountain View Airport, Missouri, May 18, 2025
On May 18, 2025 at about 7:20 pm local time, a 2007 amateur-built EXCALIBUR, registered N4831A, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Mountain View Airport, Missouri (Mountain View airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight collision with a bird while enroute.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 18, 2025 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Mountain View Airport, Missouri · Mountain View · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EXCALIBUR, built 2007
- Registration
- N4831A · registry record · serial 102898
- 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 while flying about 1,500 ft above ground level, a large bird struck the right side of the airplane and the right main landing gear separated from its attachment point. The pilot flew back to the airport and performed a soft field landing in the grass adjacent to the taxiway. Post accident examination revealed substantial damage to the right side of the fuselage.
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
- Birdstrike during enroute defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Effect on operation
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Ability to respond/compensate
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,355 hours in all; 5 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 1,345 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2024
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 170 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503UL (piston); 170 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KMNF Mountain View MO at 6:30 pm
- Destination: KMNF Mountain View MO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: ovct
- Temperature: 65°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 pm from KUNO, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on August 28, 2025. 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, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N4831A 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.