# Accident 19990107000359A: Luscom 8A, Palmetto, FL, January 7, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 7, 1999, 16:45 local time - Place: Palmetto, FL - Airport: Manatee Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 27.6426° N, 82.5199° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.6426&lon=-82.5199&mi=10 - Aircraft: N1231K, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1231K) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Luscombe 8A (registry code 8190104, https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental A&C65 series (registry code 17003, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: LUSCOM 8A - Reported engine: CONT A658F - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 123 total, 28 in this make and model, 39 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL99LA039](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA039) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990107000359A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AFT LEFT WHEEL PANT ROLLED AROUND UNDER THE WHEEL ON LANDING. OTHER CIRCUM STANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (FROM .4) ON JANUARY 7, 1999, ABOUT 1645 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A LUSCOMBE 8-A, N1231K, NOSED-OVER DURING LANDING AT THE MANATEE AIRPORT, IN PALMETTO, FLORIDA. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PRIVATE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE LOCAL PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED AND THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE AIRPLANE HAD DEPARTED MANATEE AIRPORT ABOUT 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, DURING THE FIRST FEW LANDINGS HE FELT A VIBRATION. ON THE ACCIDENT LANDING, THE LEFT WHEEL FARING FAILED AND BECAME LODGED UNDER THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL DURING THE LANDING ROLL. THE PILOT APPLIED RIGHT RUDDER IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL, BUT THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO VEER LEFT. THE AIRPLANE SKIDDED APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET AND NOSED-OVER ON THE RUNWAY. THE NOSE-OVER DAMAGED THE PROP, WINDSHIELD, RIGHT WING, AND THE VERTICAL STABILIZER. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT THERE WERE N O MECHANICAL FAILURES. THE LEFT WHEEL FARING ATTACH SCREWS ON THE INSIDE HAD SHEARED OFF, AND THE ATTACH BOLT ON THE OUTSIDE HAD PULLED THROUGH THE FIBERGLASS ON THE FARING. THE SAME DAMAGE WAS NOTED ON THE RIGHT FARING EXCEPT THAT IT REMAINED PARTIALLY ATTACHED. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WERE TIRE MARKS IN THE GRASS AND SAND MADE BY THE LEFT AND RIGHT MAIN TIRES, WHICH INDICATED THAT THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AT A SLOW SPEED. THE MARKS TERMINATED AT THE POINT WHERE THE AIRPLANE NOSED-OVER. (-23) THE PILOT, MR. STEVEN WALTERS, STATED THAT ON JANUARY 7, 1999, HE AND A PASSENGER, MR. DAVE EDWARD'S (A CERTIFICATED PILOT) WERE MAKING A WHEEL LANDING WHEN THE LEFT WHEEL FARING CAME OFF AND WENT UNDER THE TIRE, CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO GO OVER ON ITS BACK. SEE ATTACHED STATEMENT. INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE WHEEL FARINGS REVEALED THE LEFT WHEEL FARING ATTACH SCREWS ON THE INSIDE SHEARED OFF, AND THE ATTACH BOLT ON THE OUTSIDE HAD PULLED THROUGH THE FIBERGLASS ON THE FARING, CAUSING THE FARING TO COME OFF THE AIRCRAFT. THE RIGHT FARING OUTSIDE BOLT WAS PULLED THROUGH THE FIBERGLASS; HOWEVER, THE FARING REMAINED ON THE AIRCRAFT BECAUSE OF THE SCREWS ON THE INSIDE OF THE FARING. THE A BOVE DAMAGE TO THE WHEEL FARINGS WAS CAUSED WHEN THE FARINGS MADE CONTACT WITH THE GROUND DURING THE ROLL OVER. DURING MY INVESTIGATION, I OBSERVED MARKS IN THE GRASS AND SAND MADE BY THE LEFT AND RIGHT MAIN TIRES, INDICATING THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AT A SLOW SPEED CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO GO OVER ON ITS BACK.. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ATL99LA039](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA039), Jan 7, 1999: Luscombe 8-A (N1231K), Palmetto, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the wheel fairing attach bolts that resulted in the loss of control during the landing roll when the fairing became lodged under the left wheel. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.