Swearingen SX300 accident near Jekyll Island, Georgia, January 9, 2000
On January 9, 2000 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Swearingen SX300, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N54SX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jekyll Island, Georgia (Jekyll Island 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
failure of the left main landing gear attachment during the landing/flare touchdown for undetermined reasons, resulting in the loss of directional control and the airplane exiting the runway and colliding with a runway light.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 9, 2000 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Jekyll Island, Georgia · Jekyll Island · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SX300, amateur-built
- Registration
- N54SX · registry record · serial KMP054
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that during the landing touchdown, the left wheel settled and the airplane veered off the runway, incurring damage. According to the pilot, an examination of the airplane and landing area after the accident showed that the left tire was sideways at touchdown. There was a gouge where the left strut dug into the asphalt. A representative of the owner examined the accident aircraft, and stated that the left main landing gear torque link pin boss fractured, which allowed the wheel and axle assembly to rotate outwards, breaking the axle block off at the weld on the oleo piston tube during the landing rollout.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,170 hours in all; 128 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 6,170 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 123 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 23, 1999; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-L1C5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7FL6 Daytona Beach FL at 4:10 pm
- Destination: 09J
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,711 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Observation at 6:50 pm from SSI, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.