Van's RV-12 N321BT
4 September 2023 · Crystal, Minnesota, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 4 September 2023 at about 00:00 local time, a Van's RV-12 registered N321BT was involved in an accident near Crystal, Minnesota, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 00:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Crystal, Minnesota, United States
- Nearest airport
- Crystal (MIC)
- Coordinates
- 45.0645, -93.3528
- Aircraft
- Van's RV-12
- Registration
- N321BT
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2022
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- La Pointe → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN23LA398
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing and an overstress fracture of the nose landing gear strut.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot was landing the light-sport airplane on the runway when it bounced two times. The nose gear collapsed, the propeller struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest upright on the runway in a nose-down attitude. The two occupants were able to exit the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. A postaccident metallurgical examination of the fractured nose landing gear strut revealed features consistent with ductile overstress fracture. There was no evidence of any pre-existing damage to the nose landing gear strut. It is likely the pilot did not attain a proper landing flare, which resulted in the airplane bouncing twice and subsequently sustaining an overstress fracture of the nose landing strut.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Van's RV-12 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Oct 2023 | Van's RV-12 | Novato, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Oct 2022 | Van's RV-12 | Chandler, Texas, United States | Blackwell Jimmie A | Fatal | 1 |
| 16 Aug 2022 | Van's RV-12 | Westfield, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Sep 2024 | Van's RV-12 | Paris, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jun 2024 | Van's RV-12 | Auburn, Washington, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 24 May 2025 | Van's RV-12 | Abingdon, Virginia, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Feb 2023 | Cessna 172S | Princeton, Minnesota, United States | Twin Cities Flight Training, Inc | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 2023 | Schweizer G-164B | Beltrami, Minnesota, United States | Gasper Air Spray, Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 May 2023 | Loehle Acft 5151 MUSTANG | Hector, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Sep 2023 | Cessna 150K | South Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Jun 2023 | Icon A5 | Onamia, Minnesota, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Mar 2023 | Socata TB21 | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |