Flying Cloud Aviation LLC AL18 accident near Ridgeland, South Carolina, June 7, 2025
On June 7, 2025 at about 6:30 pm local time, a 2022 Flying Cloud Aviation LLC AL18, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N859SS, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Ridgeland, South Carolina (Ridgeland-Claude Dean airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 7, 2025 · about 6:30 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Ridgeland, South Carolina · Ridgeland-Claude Dean · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Flying Cloud Aviation LLC AL18, built 2022, amateur-built
- Registration
- N859SS · registry record · serial AL-366
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the decent, the pilot-rated passenger stated that the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane asked him if he wanted to attempt a landing. He accepted with the condition that the pilot remain on the flight controls with him. During touchdown, the airplane bounced, and the pilot took control of the airplane from the pilot-rated passenger. The airplane bounced again and then ground loop. The airplane’s right wing and right horizontal stabilizer were substantially damaged. 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
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 678 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 63 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 484 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: December 21, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot-Rated Passenger
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; rotorcraft: unmanned (suas)
- Flight time: 2,800 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 112 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 12, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming Engines IO-390 Series (piston); 135 hours total
- Operator: Preferred Landing LLC
The flight
- Departed from: Foreman SC at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 4,200 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,700 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from 3J1
Weather report (METAR): METAR K3J1 071835Z AUTO 24007KT 10SM SCT047 SCT060 33/24 A2988 RMK AO2
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 4 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Accident Aircraft Adjacent to Runway
Photograph 2 – Damage to Aircraft Right Wing
Photograph 3 – Damage to Aircraft Right Wing Spars
Photograph 4 – Damage to Aircraft Horizontal Stabilizer and ElevatorThe 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
3 documents, released by the NTSB on December 4, 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 | Memorandum for Record - Passenger | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 5 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N859SS on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Lycoming Engines IO-390 Series 312 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in South Carolina 1,036 since 1982 · 173 in the last ten years
- South Carolina 3,113 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ERA25LA374.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.