Amateur-built Steen Skybolt accident near Lebanon, Indiana, July 26, 2001
On July 26, 2001 at about 11:45 pm local time, a amateur-built Steen Skybolt, registered N2261N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lebanon, Indiana (Lehrman 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 misjudged his altitude during the landing. A factor was the soybean crop which the airplane contacted.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 26, 2001 · about 11:45 pm local time
- Place
- Lebanon, Indiana · Lehrman · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Steen Skybolt
- Registration
- N2261N · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane nosed over after colliding with a soybean crop on the left side of the runway while landing. The pilot reported that he was flying the airplane from the rear seat which limited his forward visibility of the runway so he used the following landing technique. "Make an early turn from base to final and follow a flight path that lies at an angle of 10 to 20 degrees to the runway heading until the aircraft passes over the runway edge at minimal altitude, align the aircraft with the runway heading using rudder only and promptly flare." The pilot reported that he "...misjudged his altitude and/or rate of descent and the aircraft failed to clear the soybeans growing along the left edge of the runway." He reported the left main gear contacted the soybeans and the airplane turned to an approximate 360 degree heading. The pilot applied full power in an attempt to gain altitude but "...the drag on the left wing in contact with the tops of the soybean plants prevented the building of airspeed." The pilot then reduced the throttle and the airplane settled into the soybeans and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that he "...attributes the cause of this accident to his error in either selecting the wrong technique for final approach, or failing to maintain proper glide path to clear the crop growing at the runway edge. It is possible that the low angle of the sun and the resultant long shadow cast by the soybeans on to the runway contributed to the pilot's misjudgment of the height of the crop."
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,358 hours in all; 93 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 1,300 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 20, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 270 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, September 23, 1998
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Lebanon IN at 11:00 pm
- Destination: PVT Lebanon
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,600 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; a few clouds at 22,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from IND, 24 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.