20120516008839I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Taylorcraft L-2A · Fort Leavenwort, KS · May 16, 2012

Date
May 16, 2012 · 11:15 local
Place
Fort Leavenwort, KS
Airport
Sherman Army Airfield
Phase of flight
Climb
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N48867
Reported as
Taylorcraft L-2A
Reported engine
Continental A-65-8
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours
2,110 total3 in this make and model5 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.

The pilot reported loss of power at about 300 feet after takeoff from runway 34. He turned right 180 degrees with the intention to land in the grass adjacent to the runway. Having accomplished the turn, but before touchdown, the pilot slipped the aircraft to the right to land on the runway instead of the grass. The aircraft dropped and landed hard from about 2 feet in the air, collapsing the right landing gear. The aircraft then ground looped to the left, departing the hard surface off the west side of runway, and came to rest facing north.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT REPORTED LOSS OF POWER AT ABOUT 300 FEET AFTER TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 34. HE TURNED RIGHT 180 DEGREES WITH THE INTENTION TO LAND IN THE GRASS ADJACENT TO THE RUNWAY. HAVING ACCOMPLISHED THE TURN, BUT BEFORE TOUCHDOWN, THE PILOT SLIPPED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE RIGHT TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY INSTEAD OF THE GRASS. THE AIRCRAFT DROPPED AND LANDED HARD FROM ABOUT 2 FEET IN THE AIR, COLLAPSING THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR. THE AIRCRAFT THEN GROUND LOOPED TO THE LEFT, DEPARTING THE HARD SURFACE OFF THE WEST SIDE OF RUNWAY, AND CAME TO REST FACING NORTH.