Amateur-built Zenair CH701 STOL accident near Lithia, Florida, December 24, 2006
On December 24, 2006 at about 6:25 pm local time, a amateur-built Zenair CH701 STOL, registered N817DJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lithia, Florida (Stanchester 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
Collapse of the nosegear for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 24, 2006 · about 6:25 pm local time
- Place
- Lithia, Florida · Stanchester · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Zenair CH701 STOL
- Registration
- N817DJ · registry record · serial 7-9244
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated the accident flight departed KPCM at about 12:30 local time. After about an hour of local flight, which included several landings and take-offs from a local grass strip (Blackwater Creek), we flew to my private airstrip, OFL6. We made a normal STOL approach at 50 mph and with 2 notches of flap. There was a slight quartering tail wind from the right. We made a reasonably firm arrival on the main gear as usual. The nose dropped as expected, but then continued to drop so that the propeller impacted the ground. There was no sensation of the nose gear touching the ground and then failing; the nose simply dropped through the normal landing attitude as if the nose gear were not there. After the propeller contacted the ground, the aircraft very slowly nosed over and came to rest on its back. I undid the 4 point harness and exited through the left door, and went around to the other side to help the passenger out. There were no injuries. Post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed that the nose wheel (which is directly linked to the rudder pedals for ground steering) was about 45 degrees to the left. The forks which hold the nose wheel were deformed in a way that suggest that the nose wheel contacted the ground while turned to the left. It Is possible that if the nose wheel had been straight when it contacted the ground, then the nose gear would not have been subjected to such high rearward loads, and might not have collapsed.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 675 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 612 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 114 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KPCM Plant City FL at 5:30 pm
- Destination: Lithia FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 500 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.85 inHg
- Observation at 4:30 pm from KPCM, 12 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.