20260517005089I

On may 17, 2026, the pilot coordinated via text with the director of flight operations for the museum, to organize an evening flight in the museum's PT-19. The flight aimed to build time and practice necessary for the pilot to be signed off to fly museum aircraft for memorial day weekend operations. The pilot holds a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument airplane rating and has accumulated approximately 635 hours of total flight time, including 43.5 hours of tailwheel time. The pilot acted as pilot-in-command, while the director of flight was on board in an observation and training capacity as the museum's check pilot.

The pilot arrived at the museum at approximately 5:30 p.m., where the director of flight had already preflight the aircraft. The author conducted a secondary inspection, confirming the aircraft was in normal condition.

The PT-19 is a 1943 Fairchild, powered by a ranger 6-440 inverted inline engine producing 200 horsepower.

Engine start and pre-taxi checks were completed without issue. The aircraft taxied to the run-up area for runway 27, where the run-up was normal, with no abnormalities. A pre-takeoff briefing was conducted, detailing a departure from khgr, flying westbound toward a local VOR to locate a friend, then returning to the traffic pattern for landing practice.

Weather conditions were visual meteorological with no significant factors. Observations around the time of the flight indicated wind from 200–210° at 5–7 knots, resulting in a light left quartering crosswind on runway 27. The density altitude was approximately 2,500 feet, which was not operationally limiting for the PT-19.

The takeoff proceeded smoothly, with normal acceleration, rotation, and climb-out. The flight proceeded outbound to the VOR and back inbound without difficulty. The pilot contacted Hagerstown tower and was sequenced for a left downwind to runway 27, entering the pattern at 1,700 feet MSL. The pattern was flown accurately, and the aircraft was configured to land with 10 degrees of flaps to maintain stability.

On final approach, the aircraft was aligned with the runway centerline, on glidepath, at an indicated airspeed of approximately 80 mph. The pilot intended to execute a three-point landing. At about 70 mph indicated, during the flare, the right wing dropped abruptly, and the right main gear made firm contact with the runway.

The pilot assessed that the right wing stalled, causing the hard landing. The slow speed and light crosswind may have contributed to the stall behavior.

Control was maintained throughout touchdown, rollout, and taxi. No abnormalities were noted, and the aircraft was taxied to the museum ramp. The director of flight instructed a post-flight inspection due to the touchdown's firmness and the aircraft's age. Damage was identified to the plywood skin of the center wing section near the fuselage, with cracks on both upper and lower surfaces. No other damage was noted, and there were no injuries or involvement of other aircraft, persons, or property.

The inspector, pilot, and director of flight operations engaged in a conversation to the root cause of the incident. The pilot and director were discussing in significant details regarding the accuracy of the airspeed indicator. The inspector suggested that an erroneous reading from the airspeed indicator would have been a crucial factor in the incident. The pilot recalled that during the drop of the right wing, he noted the indicated airspeed was approximately 70 mph. The pilot suggested that the airspeed indicator could have been displaying a higher indicated airspeed than the aircraft's true airspeed, leading to an unintentional reduction of lift during the flare.

The pilot notified the president of the museum, and the national transportation safety board within one hour of the incident. The aircraft was secured in the executive hangar for further inspection and damage assessment by a qualified a&p/ia.