Amateur-built RV-7A accident near Weirsdale, Florida, February 5, 2025
On February 5, 2025 at about 6:30 pm local time, a 2007 amateur-built RV-7A, registered N811WJ, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Weirsdale, Florida (Love Field Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing and subsequent nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 5, 2025 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Weirsdale, Florida · Love Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-7A, built 2007
- Registration
- N811WJ · registry record · serial 70685
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was landing the experimental amateur-built airplane on a turf runway, and had traveled about 1/3 the length of the runway when the airplane “lost energy” about 5 feet above ground level. The airplane then bounced as it crested a small hill before it landed “hard” on the nose landing gear. The nose landing gear subsequently dug into the soft, sandy soil and the airplane nosed over. The pilot was seriously injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts, empennage, and fuselage during the accident sequence. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s flight controls revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Nose over/nose down during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Incorrect use/operation
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 620 hours in all; 423 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 507 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 10, 2024
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 389 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, December 21, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1D (piston); 398 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: X23 Umatilla FL at 5:29 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18/3, 3,700 ft by 125 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.18 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from KLEE, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KLEE 051753Z 15005KT 10SM CLR 26/18 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP217 T02560178 10256 20139 58019
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – View of Airplane at Accident Site made Upright
Photograph 2 – View of Airplane at Accident Site made UprightThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on November 6, 2025. 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, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 3 | Memorandum for Record A�� Wreckage Examination | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | 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.