19971004029989I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Amtr SEAFURYTMK20 · Midland, TX · October 4, 1997

Date
October 4, 1997 · 21:00 local
Place
Midland, TX
Airport
Midland International Airport
Phase of flight
Final Approach
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N260X
Reported as
Amtr SEAFURYTMK20
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
29,000 total1,140 in this make and model65 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: on final approach to maf as a flight of three, the pilot selected gear down. A loud bang was heard that later proved to be the tail wheel being punctured by a broken oleo strut. Upon landing, the aircraft began to track back and forth until the pilot lost control resulting in a ground loop. The pilot who was the lone occupant of the aircraft was not injured and the aircraft sustained minor damages to the tail wheel retract assembly. The tail wheel oleo strut broke at the attach point during gear retraction. During gear extension, the oleo punctured the tail wheel causing the pilot to loose directional control on roll-out.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: ON FINAL APPROACH TO MAF AS A FLIGHT OF THREE, THE PILOT SELECTED GEAR DOWN. A LOUD BANG WAS HEARD THAT LATER PROVED TO BE THE TAIL WHEEL BEING PUNCTURED BY A BROKEN OLEO STRUT. UPON LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO TRACK BACK AND FORTH UNTIL THE PILOT LOST CONTROL RESULTING IN A GROUND LOOP. THE PILOT WHO WAS THE LONE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGES TO THE TAIL WHEEL RETRACT ASSEMBLY. THE TAIL WHEEL OLEO STRUT BROKE AT THE ATTACH POINT DURING GEAR RETRACTION. DURING GEAR EXTENSION, THE OLEO PUNCTURED THE TAIL WHEEL CAUSING THE PILOT TO LOOSE DIRECTIONAL CONTROL ON ROLL-OUT.