ANC03LA010

NTSB accident investigation · Luscombe 8A · Fairbanks, AK · November 3, 2002

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
November 3, 2002, 10:38 local (14:38 UTC)
Place
Fairbanks, AK
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N1933BLuscombe 8A
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report July 23, 2003
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20021103030429A
Case key
55996

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's excessive use of brakes during the landing roll, which resulted in the nose over of the airplane.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Nose overLanding - roll
Brakes(normal) - excessivePilot in commandCause

Analysis

The solo commercial pilot was landing a wheel-equipped airplane on a paved, dry runway. The pilot reported that just after touchdown, he was requested by the tower controller to use, if possible, the first available exit off of the active runway. The pilot said that when he applied the airplane's toe brakes, the wheels stopped turning, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, fuselage, and empennage. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported no preaccident mechanical anomalies.

Factual narrative

On November 3, 2002, about 1038 Alaska standard time, a wheel-equipped Luscombe 8A airplane, N1933B, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over while landing on a paved, dry runway, at the Fairbanks International Airport, Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1030, from the Chena Marina Airport, Fairbanks.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge on November 4, the pilot reported that just after touchdown on runway 1R, he was requested by the Fairbanks Air Traffic Control Tower local controller to use, if possible, the first available exit off of the active runway. The pilot said that when he applied the airplane's toe brakes, the wheels stopped turning, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, fuselage, and empennage.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations inspector, Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office, inspected the airplane. He reported that there no preaccident mechanical anomalies noted with the accident airplane.

The pilot did not submit an NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120. 1).

Aircraft

Registration
N1933B
Reported as
Luscombe 8A
Category
Airplane
Serial number
6360
Engine
Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
David J. Misiuk
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
AK28 · Fairbanks, AK
Destination
FAI · Fairbanks, AK
Airport
FAI · Fairbanks International, runway 1R, 6,500 × 100 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
51
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Flight hours
3,630 total

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
7,500 ft broken
Altimeter
29.82 inHg
Observed at
PAFA

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N1933B · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.