Flight Design CTSW accident near Hillsdale, Michigan, August 10, 2006
On August 10, 2006 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Flight Design CTSW, registered N109CT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hillsdale, Michigan (Hillsdale Muni 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's misjudged flare which resulted in the hard landing and his improper recovery from the bounced landing which resulted in the overload failure of the nose landing gear and subsequent nose over. The overload failure of the nose landing gear was a factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 2006 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hillsdale, Michigan · Hillsdale Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Flight Design CTSW
- Registration
- N109CT · registry record · serial 04-12-05
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The light sport airplane was damaged during a hard landing. The pilot had just completed an hour of dual instruction in the accident airplane. He stated that during the accident he was sole occupant of the airplane. He stated that during the landing he touched down hard and bounced into the air. He stated that when the airplane touched down the second time the nose landing gear bent and the airplane went off the left side of the runway. He stated that the bent nose landing gear became stuck in the grass and the airplane nosed over. According to the pilot, the wind was from 40 degrees right of the runway heading at 4 to 6 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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 114 hours in all; 5 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 70 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Y85 Hillsdale MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 100
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 5 knots
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N109CT the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 CHI06CA226.