- Date
- August 20, 2010, 10:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Denver, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N755KTubbs S/Performance Air PA18-225
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- DEN FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100820042469A
- Case key
- 77024
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 failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the tailwheel on her single-engine airplane had just undergone maintenance to alleviate a shimmy and was told to practice some touch-and-go landings to see if the problem had been alleviated. The pilot did several landings and said the shimmy had improved but was not completely gone. However, on the sixth landing, the pilot landed on the tailwheel, which resulted in an "extreme and violent" shimmy. The airplane veered to the right and the pilot tried to correct for it by applying pressure to just one brake. The airplane continued to veer off the runway, so the pilot applied both brakes and the airplane flipped over, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing strut and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical problems and that the accident could have been prevented if she kept the airplane on the runway.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the tail wheel on her single-engine airplane had just undergone maintenance to alleviate a shimmy and was told to go practice some touch and go landings to see if the problem had been alleviated. The pilot did several landings and said the shimmy had improved but was not completely gone. However, on the sixth landing, the pilot landed on the tail wheel which resulted in an "extreme and violent" shimmy. The airplane veered to the right and the pilot tried to correct for it by applying pressure to just one brake. The airplane continued to veer off the runway, so the pilot applied both brakes and the airplane flipped over resulting in substantial damage to the right wing strut and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical problems and the accident could have been prevented if she kept the airplane on the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N755K
- Reported as
- Tubbs S/Performance Air PA18-225
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- PA 0105
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rinah Levine
- Registered owner
- Echo Valley Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- APA · Denver, CO
- Destination
- APA · Denver, CO
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- APA · Centennial, runway 17R
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 30 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 23, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.
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 N755K · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.