Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to properly identify the airstrip, which resulted in him landing the airplane off of the airstrip in soft soil causing the nose over.
NTSB analysis
The pilot was approaching to land on a private unimproved runway. The field immediately adjacent to the landing area had been recently plowed. The pilot was landing into the direction of the rising sun, which was just coming over the horizon as he was making his approach. The pilot mistakenly identified a plowed portion of the field for the intended landing area and proceeded to land on it. As he touched down, he noticed the landing area was softer than it should have been, so he kept the nose wheel off the ground as long as he could. The nose wheel finally set down in the soft dirt and dug in, resulting in the airplane flipping over on its back. Both of the airplane's wings, vertical stabilizer, and rudder received substantial damage.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13CA206 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Feb 13, 2013
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Sabinal, Texas
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Dawn
Cessna T206H
- N-number
- N7824G
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Business
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.