20120131001689I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Mingledorff PITTS SPECIAL S-1S · Santa Ana, CA · January 31, 2012

Date: January 31, 2012 · 17:16 local
Place: Santa Ana, CA
Airport: Santa Ana John Wayne Airport
Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N88EM
Reported as: Mingledorff Pitts Special S-1S
Reported engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 3,000 total1,500 in this make and model10 in the last 90 days

N88EMRegistered now · Mingledorff PITTS SPECIAL S-1SS/N EM-01 Airframe modelMingledorff PITTS SPECIAL S-1S Engine modelAmateur-built UNKNOWN ENG

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.

N88EM was doing touch and go landings on runway 19L at Santa Ana airport. On one of the landings, the nose and propeller struck the ground causing minor damage and no injuries to the pilot. The owner believes the right wheel pant/cover came loose and rotated forward locking up the wheel. This caused the aircraft to rotate forward and contact the ground with the propeller. The wheel pant/covers had been removed in the process of removing the aircraft from the runway. Wheel cover attaching hardware was not located and mounting structure for the wheel cover was very distorted from its original design condition.

As the FAA filed it

N88EM WAS DOING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS ON RUNWAY 19L AT SANTA ANA AIRPORT. ON ONE OF THE LANDINGS, THE NOSE AND PROPELLER STRUCK THE GROUND CAUSING MINOR DAMAGE AND NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT. THE OWNER BELIEVES THE RIGHT WHEEL PANT/COVER CAME LOOSE AND ROTATED FORWARD LOCKING UP THE WHEEL. THIS CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO ROTATE FORWARD AND CONTACT THE GROUND WITH THE PROPELLER. THE WHEEL PANT/COVERS HAD BEEN REMOVED IN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING THE AIRCRAFT FROM THE RUNWAY. WHEEL COVER ATTACHING HARDWARE WAS NOT LOCATED AND MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR THE WHEEL COVER WAS VERY DISTORTED FROM ITS ORIGINAL DESIGN CONDITION.