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Accidents · NTSB ERA20LA234 · Final report

Evektor Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR accident near Ocala, Florida, July 1, 2020

On July 1, 2020 at about 2:30 pm local time, a 2007 Evektor Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR, registered N820NG, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Ocala, Florida (Leeward Air Ranch airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The pilot’s impairment or distraction due to an acute stroke, which resulted in an unstabilized approach and subsequent loss of airplane control during landing.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
July 1, 2020 · about 2:30 pm local time
Place
Ocala, Florida · Leeward Air Ranch · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was killed.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Evektor Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR No Series, built 2007
Registration
N820NG · no longer on the register · serial 20070818
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The 78-year-old pilot was landing following a cross-country flight. Witnesses’ accounts indicated that the final approach was unstabilized, the pilot did not attempt a go-around, and the airplane bounced after landing long down the runway. The pilot subsequently lost airplane control and the airplane came to rest inverted in a grassy area about 2,500 ft down and 200 ft east of the runway. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal evidence of a preaccident malfunction or anomaly. The pilot held no Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate, nor was she required to. Autopsy findings showed an acute stroke in her left basal ganglia, as well as an enlarged heart and hypertensive kidney disease. Personal medical records showed the pilot was being treated for hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, with four medications needed to control her blood pressure. Symptoms of a basal ganglia stroke can include a sudden severe headache, one-sided numbness and weakness, double vision, and loss of coordination; symptoms typically occur over minutes to hours. While it is unknown what symptoms the pilot may have experienced, given the operational aspects of this accident, impairment or distraction would be likely from an acutely evolving stroke. Thus, the pilot’s stroke likely contributed to this accident. Postmortem toxicology testing did not detect any sedating or impairing medications in the pilot’s cavity blood or liver tissue.

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

  1. Loss of control on ground during landing (flare/touchdown)
  2. Collision during takeoff/land during landing (landing roll)
  3. Medical event during landing defining event

The NTSB's findings

  • Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
  • Personnel issues › Physical › Impairment/incapacitation › Cardiovascular › Pilot

Pilot

  • Certificate: sport pilot
  • Ratings: single-engine land
  • Flight time: 302 hours in all; 277 in this make and model
  • Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
  • Seat: left
  • Injury: fatal

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 441 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, May 17, 2020
  • Maximum gross weight: 1,268 lb
  • Seats: 2
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Rotax 912 ULS (piston); 441 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: X60 Williston FL at 1:45 pm
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 18, 6,247 ft by 150 ft

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Wind: from 320° at 5 knots
  • Visibility: 10 statute miles
  • Sky: scat at 2,800 ft
  • Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
  • Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
  • Observation at 2:51 pm from OCF, 11 miles away

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew1

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

11 documents, released by the NTSB on May 26, 2022. 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.

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.