- Date
- April 3, 1993, 12:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Tuskegee, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N89STJohn Thomason Laco 145
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930403007789A
- Case key
- 8732
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 overload failure of the tail wheel leaf springs, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the landing roll.
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
The pilot reported that he was performing a normal landing; the tail wheel touched down first, then the mains. During the landing roll, directional control was lost, and the aircraft ground looped. The investigation revealed that the tail wheel leaf springs had failed. There was corrosion on one of the fracture surfaces; however, metallurgical examination of the springs revealed that all fractures were from overload. The pilot reported that all of the leaf springs were not located; therefore, a complete metallurgical study was not possible. The aircraft total time was 26 hours; however, the leaf springs were installed in a used condition, and the maintenance history of the springs was not available.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N89ST
- Reported as
- John Thomason Laco 145
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JT-1
- Airframe hours
- 26
- Engine
- Continental O-300-C, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Grimes, Charles J.
- Registered owner
- Thomason, John
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 20, 1992 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Smiths, AL
- Airport
- 06A · Tuskegee Municipal, runway 31, 5,000 × 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
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 424 total · 19 in this make and model · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AUO, 15 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.