Liberty Aerospace, Inc. XL-2 incident near Ormond Beach, Florida, February 21, 2007
On February 21, 2007 at about 3:57 pm local time, a Liberty Aerospace, Inc. XL-2, registered N550XL, suffered minor damage in an incident near Ormond Beach, Florida (Ormond Beach Municipal 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 improper manufacturing of the nose undercarriage leg by the vendor, and the inadequate surveillance of the vendor by the airplane manufacturer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 21, 2007 · about 3:57 pm local time
- Place
- Ormond Beach, Florida · Ormond Beach Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Liberty Aerospace, Inc. XL-2
- Registration
- N550XL · no longer on the register · serial 0039
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While landing during a personal flight, the airplane touched down, veered right, and bounced 3 to 4 feet. The pilot-in-command allowed the airspeed to bleed off, and heard the stall warning. The airplane landed hard, and the nose undercarriage leg failed near the 2 inch bend radius. National Transportation Safety Board examination of the nose undercarriage leg revealed overstress separation. Transverse parallel crack-like features were noted on the forward surface of the leg below the fracture. The crack-like features were established to be local transverse regions of oxidation, many of which also contained a transverse crack in the surface. A meandering crack network was also noted in the aft side of the leg adjacent to the fracture. The cracks intersected the fracture at several locations, and oxidation accompanied the cracks. A polished cross-section intersecting the cracks in the forward and aft surfaces revealed at least eight cracks in the forward surface, and one crack in the aft surface. Close examination revealed heavy oxidation of the crack surfaces and adjacent material consistent with high temperature exposure after crack formation. Hardness testing in several locations of the nose undercarriage leg was within limits. No fatigue cracks were noted. The cracks of the nose undercarriage leg were caused due to improper forming of the bend by the vendor. In addition, the airplane manufacturer did not specify forming procedures for the vendor to comply with, nor did they perform any sample testing. The vendor was responsible for performing sample testing. A failure of a nose undercarriage leg owned by the airplane manufacturer occurred 15 days before the incident date. Testing of the failed nose undercarriage leg from the occurrence 15 days earlier revealed it had similar cracks as the incident case investigated by the Safety Board. Further investigation of the manufacturing process of the nose undercarriage legs by the airplane manufacturer revealed the 2-inch bend radius was torch heated then manually bent; the torch heating caused the cracking noted. As a result of the 2 failed nose undercarriage legs, the airplane manufacturer changed vendors, modified the nose undercarriage leg drawing, wrote a specific technical document for future vendors pertaining to the forming procedure, prepared Service Information Letter SIL-07-006, and inspected the nose undercarriage legs of 60 aircraft. Of the 60 aircraft inspected, the nose undercarriage legs of 29 were found to be defective with cracks similar to cracks found in the nose undercarriage leg of N550XL.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 121 hours in all; 8 in this make and model; 8 in the last 30 days; 48 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 65.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 2007; 13.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,653 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IOF-240-B4 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ormond Beach Aviation, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KOMN Ormond Beach FL at 2:50 pm
- Destination: KOMN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 4,004 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from KOMN
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.
Other NTSB records under N550XL the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.