Amateur-built Hanson Bucker 131E accident near Memphis, Tennessee, May 19, 2007
On May 19, 2007 at about 7:50 pm local time, a amateur-built Hanson Bucker 131E, registered N234RX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Memphis, Tennessee (General Dewitt Spain Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout that resulted in a collision with a lighting structure in the grass while landing. A factor in the accident was the pilot's intentional landing in the runway safety area.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2007 · about 7:50 pm local time
- Place
- Memphis, Tennessee · General Dewitt Spain Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Hanson Bucker 131E
- Registration
- N234RX · registry record · serial 543
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot reported that the Hanson Bucker 131E amateur-built airplane performed "beautifully" during the local pleasure flight and as he maneuvered the airplane to land in the grass parallel to runway 35, a paved runway. At touchdown, the airplane struck the upwind set of visual approach slope indicator (VASI) lights, and nosed over. According to the airport manager, the airplane landed on the runway safety area, not a turf runway, and the VASI lights had been installed "for years."
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 25,000 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 400 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,584 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Avco Lycoming AE-10-360-B4A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2M8 Millington TN at 9:00 pm
- Destination: M01 Memphis TN
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 35, 3,800 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from MEM, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.