Pearland Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pearland, Texas 77581
Friday, October 29, 2010 13:23 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot/builder was making the first flight of the experimental single engine airplane after having completed several high-speed taxi tests and ground runs of the engine. Shortly after becoming airborne and during the initial climb, the pilot began to notice oil on the windshield. He returned to the airport to land by which time the oil film was significantly reducing his forward visibility and he had difficulty judging his height above the ground. During the landing the airplane touched down hard and bounced. On the second touchdown both main landing gear legs collapsed and penetrated through the top surfaces of the wings. The pilot stated that he was unable to determine the source of the engine oil leak.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was an engine oil leak which partially obscured the pilot’s forward vision.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/29/2010
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1323
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Pearland
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77581
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 293110N
Event Location Longitude 0951419W
Event Location Airport Pearland Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LVJ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 44
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID LVJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 44
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KLVJ 291853Z AUTO 01005KT 10SM CLR 22/01 A3032 RMK
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27659
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 18 2010 2:39PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N128JH
NTSB Number CEN11CA046
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hughes J/Hughes J
Aircraft Model Rand-Robinson
Aircraft Series Identifier KR2
Aircraft Serial Number 2810
Certified Max Gross Weight 1100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Sep 27 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 0
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name John W Hughes and Jay W Hughes
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77042
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Jay W Hughes
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City League City
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77573
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LVJ
Departure City Pearland
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1308
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code LVJ
Destination City Pearland
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 17 2010 5:19PM
User who most recently changed record latt
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 4313
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --