Plane damaged in hard landing at Crystal Lake Airport

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS

A Cubcrafter CC11-150 Carbon Cub SS rest on the side of runway 13 at Crystal Lake airport June 9 after making a hard landing which resulted in the right main landing gear bending under th bottom side of the front cockpit. Neither occupant of the tandem seat aircraft was hurt in the incident.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS A Cubcrafter CC11-150 Carbon Cub SS rest on the side of runway 13 at Crystal Lake airport June 9 after making a hard landing which resulted in the right main landing gear bending under th bottom side of the front cockpit. Neither occupant of the tandem seat aircraft was hurt in the incident.

DECATUR -- Two flight crew members narrowly escaped injury on June 9 when their single-engine aircraft made a hard landing at Crystal Lake Airport about 1:30 p.m., causing the airport to be shut down for almost two hours.

It is unclear whether it was an instructor and student or the plane's owner receiving a check ride in the 2018 CubcrafterCC11-150 Carbon Cub SS tandem-seat conventional landing gear (taildragger).

According to local law enforcement officers on the scene, the incident occurred as the small single-engine aircraft was touching down on runway 13 at Crystal Lake Airport when the Carbon Cub, equipped with tundra tires, broke hard, causing the right landing gear to buckle underneath the underside of the front cockpit. After the aircraft lost lift, the right wing hit the ground, causing the plane to veer slightly to the right before it stopped on the right edge of the runway.

The owner of the aircraft had just purchased the Carbon Cub SS a few days before the incident and had just taken possession of the plane after it was flown in from a dealer in Washington State on Tuesday.

Decatur Police secured the scene and airport officials were able to tow the damaged aircraft to a hangar on the southeast end of the airport.

The weather was not reported to be a factor in this incident. The names of the flight crew were not released at the time of the incident.

NOTE: Tundra tires are large 26-inch low-pressure tires that are used on aircraft flying in the backwoods of Alaska and Canada. These tires are capable of landing on grass airstrips, open fields where the conditions are unknown, river banks, and sand bars. The normal operating size for aircraft like the original Piper Cub is eight inches.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS

The extent of the damage to a Cubcrafter CC11-150 Carbon Cub SS aircraft is clearly visible after the plane made a hard landing on runway 13 at Crystal Lake Airport June 9. The right wing sustained damage after striking the ground when the plane came to rest. The right main landing gear folded up under the front fuselage.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS The extent of the damage to a Cubcrafter CC11-150 Carbon Cub SS aircraft is clearly visible after the plane made a hard landing on runway 13 at Crystal Lake Airport June 9. The right wing sustained damage after striking the ground when the plane came to rest. The right main landing gear folded up under the front fuselage.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS

While two men (center) pull down on the left wing, an airport working guides the 
Carbon Cub SS to a hanger after a hard land caused the right main landing gear to fold under the front cockpit June 9 at Crystal Lake Airport. Neither crew member was hurt in the incident.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS While two men (center) pull down on the left wing, an airport working guides the Carbon Cub SS to a hanger after a hard land caused the right main landing gear to fold under the front cockpit June 9 at Crystal Lake Airport. Neither crew member was hurt in the incident.