- Date
- April 28, 2004, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cedartown, GA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N271TPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Atlanta FSDO-11
- FAA report
- 20040428030349A
- Case key
- 59278
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper use of brakes during landing roll which resulted in the airplane nosing over.
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.
Analysis
According to the pilot, after landing on the grass strip alongside runway 28, he applied the brakes. The tail of the airplane immediately lifted up and the pilot slid forward in the seat. While sliding forward, the pilot inadvertently put more pressure on the brakes as well as forward pressure on the elevator. The pilot reported he applied heavy braking and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane. Examination of the airplane revealed spinner damage, right wing strut bent, rudder bent and a nick in the propeller and damage to the wind screen.
Factual narrative
On April 28, 2004 at 1800 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-18, N271T, registered to and operated by Free Spirit Aviation, nosed over after landing at Cornelius-Moore Field, Cedartown, Georgia. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The flight departed Fulton County Airport - Brown Field, Atlanta, Georgia, at 1730, on April 28, 2004.
According to the pilot, after landing on the grass strip alongside runway 28, he applied the brakes. The tail of the airplane immediately lifted up and the pilot slid forward in the seat. While sliding forward, the pilot said he inadvertently put more pressure on the brakes as well as forward pressure on the elevator. The pilot reported he applied heavy braking and the airplane nosed over.
The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane. Examination of the airplane revealed that the propeller spinner was damaged, the right wing strut was bent , the rudder assembly was bent, and the windshield was also damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N271T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-2385
- Airframe hours
- 3,662
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-CI, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Free Spirit Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 3, 2003 · 72 hours before
- Departed
- FTY · Fulton County, GA
- Destination
- 4A4 · Cedartown, GA
- Airport
- 4A4 · Cornelius-Moore Field
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 16, 2003
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 398 total · 11 in this make and model · 328 as pilot in command · 59 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- KMGE, 31 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.