Amateur-built WACO accident near Williamstown, New Jersey, September 2, 2000
On September 2, 2000 at about 3:45 pm local time, a amateur-built WACO, registered N521S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Williamstown, New Jersey (Souther Cross 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 execute an adequate flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2000 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Williamstown, New Jersey · Souther Cross
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built WACO
- Registration
- N521S · registry record · serial 002GM
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the end of a local VFR flight, the pilot flared the homebuilt airplane to land, and it touched down hard. The left axle bracket separated, and the airplane came to rest inverted. The pilot was the builder of the airplane.
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: 666 hours in all; 45 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 18, 1999; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,340 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental W670-6A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C01 at 3:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,400 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,100 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from MIV, 23 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.