Amateur-built 360 accident near Fort Stockton, Texas, June 12, 2025
On June 12, 2025 at about 2:45 am local time, a 1999 amateur-built 360, registered N77LH, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Fort Stockton, Texas (Fort Stockton-Pecos County 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 12, 2025 · about 2:45 am local time
- Place
- Fort Stockton, Texas · Fort Stockton-Pecos County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built 360 NO SERIES, built 1999
- Registration
- N77LH · registry record · serial 891 320 688
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On June 11, 2025, about 2145 central daylight time, a Lancair 360 airplane, N77LH, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Fort Stockton, Texas. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he had recently purchased the airplane in California, and he was performing a cross-country flight to his home base in Florida. The airplane stopped at the El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas to refuel. The airplane departed from ELP about 1940 mountain daylight time. While enroute to the San Antonio International Airport, San Antonio, Texas, the pilot smelled smoke in the cockpit. The pilot contacted air traffic control and changed his destination airport to the Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport, Fort Stockton, Texas, due to the emergency. Once the pilot maneuvered the airplane for landing on runway 12, the cockpit was filled with smoke, and flames were emitting from underneath the instrument panel. During the landing, the pilot reported he did not have brake authority, and the airplane departed the runway to the left. The airplane came to rest upright against a barbed wire fence along the airport perimeter. The pilot was able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The fire consumed the engine compartment, part of the fuselage, and the left wing. The wreckage was recovered from the accident site, and it was transported to a secure location for future examination. The experimental airplane was built from a kit in 1999. The composite construction airplane was equipped with a Lycoming Engines O-360-A1A reciprocating engine. The airplane had a condition inspection performed by a mechanic on the airframe and the engine on June 9, 2025. During the inspection, it was noted that the airframe had accumulated 440.4 hours total time, and the engine had accumulated 2,220.9 hours total time (with 911.9 hours since overhaul). The pilot reported that the airplane maintenance records and the historical airplane build records were stored in the baggage compartment and consumed by the fire.
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
- Fire/smoke (non-impact) during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Runway excursion during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The aircraft
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Fire in flight and on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ELP El Paso TX at 1:40 am
- Destination: SAT San Antonio TX
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 12, 4,961 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 040° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from KFST
Weather report (METAR): KFST 120153Z AUTO 04004KT 10SM CLR 27/12 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP101 T02720122 $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
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.