Amateur-built RUTAN DEFIANT accident near Morristown, New Jersey, November 16, 2016
On November 16, 2016 at about 8:25 pm local time, a 2003 amateur-built RUTAN DEFIANT, registered N770JL, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Morristown, New Jersey (Morristown 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
A collapse of the nose landing gear due to wear in the landing gear extension system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 16, 2016 · about 8:25 pm local time
- Place
- Morristown, New Jersey · Morristown Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RUTAN DEFIANT NO SERIES, built 2003
- Registration
- N770JL · registry record · serial 61
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental amateur-built airplane was landing after an uneventful personal flight. While landing on a runway, the retractable nose landing gear collapsed, the rudder that was mounted on the bottom of the fuselage contacted the runway pavement, substantially damaging it. Postaccident examination of the nose landing gear system revealed that the bottom of the down lock was worn (beveled). When the nose wheel landing gear was extended, the bottom of the down lock, which hooked over a pivot shaft to lock the landing gear down, contacted the pivot shaft around the area of the centerline and did not extend past the centerline of the pivot shaft. Drawings of the assembly’s normal functions indicated that the down lock could move and unlock the landing gear when the assembly was under load. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated about 1,338 landings. Given this information, it is likely that the wear to the nose landing gear down lock allowed the nose landing gear to collapse during the landing.
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
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Landing gear collapse during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Malfunction
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,905 hours in all; 1,245 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 5,225 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 13, 2016
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,075.6 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, January 16, 2016; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming O-360-A3A (piston); 3,705 hours total
- Engine 2: Superior SL-O-360-A1XC (piston); 100 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SBN South Bend IN at 5:00 pm
- Destination: MMU Morristown NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,998 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.75 inHg
- Observation at 8:45 pm from KMMU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
5 documents, released by the NTSB on March 26, 2021. 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, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Photo Array | PDF, 13 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Kmmu - Airport Diagram | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Memorandum for Record - Airplane Information | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.