N127VV – Zenair ZENITH STOL CH 701 – 2018-07-04 NTSB Accident Report

On July 04, 2018, a Zenair ZENITH STOL CH 701 (N127VV) was involved in an incident near San Saba, TX. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot’s improper landing flare during the aborted takeoff, which resulted in a hard landing and a nose-over.

The pilot reported that, during takeoff, he applied right rudder to counteract the left turning tendencies of the airplane, but the airplane continued to the left of the runway centerline. He was unable to correct back to runway centerline, about 5 to 10 ft above the ground, so he decided to abort the takeoff and land on the grass to the left of the runway. During the landing, the airplane landed hard and the nose landing gear "dug in" to the grass and the airplane nosed over.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and empennage.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

This incident is documented in NTSB report GAA18CA393. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N127VV.