Amateur-built JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER accident near Brasstown, North Carolina, April 30, 2025
On April 30, 2025 at about 10:29 am local time, a 2022 amateur-built JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER, registered N788MP, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Brasstown, North Carolina (Payne'S Landing 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 inadvertent application of brake pressure during landing, which resulted in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 2025 · about 10:29 am local time
- Place
- Brasstown, North Carolina · Payne'S Landing · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER, built 2022
- Registration
- N788MP · registry record · serial JA612-01-21
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said his feet were inadvertently too high on the rudder pedals on landing which resulted in his inadvertent application of brake pressure. As such, when the airplane touched down, it nosed over resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, empennage and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane 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
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Brake › Incorrect use/operation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,050 hours in all; 28.7 in this make and model; 125.3 in the last 90 days; 6.6 in the last 30 days; 1,077 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 9, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 1, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 916iS3A (piston); 14 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,250 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observation at 10:30 am from KRHP, 10 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KRHP 301429Z AUTO 19007KT 10SM BKN023 BKN027 23/16 A3022
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The 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
2 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, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigation Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | 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.