- Date
- September 2, 2010, 07:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- North Fork, NE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1678GChampion 7KCAB
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100902044249A
- Case key
- 77180
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 student pilot's loss of directional control during landing, which resulted in a ground loop.
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
According to the student pilot, during the landing roll the airplane began to weathervane toward the edge of the runway and the left wing began to lift up. He added engine power in an attempt to stop the swerve; however, the airplane exited the runway and ground looped, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage. At the time this report was completed, the pilot had not submitted NTSB form 6120.1, Pilot/Operator Accident/Incident Report as requested.
Factual narrative
In a statement provided to the Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the student pilot was on a solo flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. With the winds around 3 knots the student pilot departed runway 19 for a local flight. Around 10 minutes later he returned to the airport to find that the winds had increased to 10 knots and were now favoring runway 01. Following a touchdown on runway 01, the airplane began to “weathervane” towards the edge of the runway, and the left wing began to lift up. The student pilot added engine power in an attempt to stop the swerve to no avail. The airplane exited the runway and ground looped. Inspection of the airplane revealed that the fuselage sustained structural damage. Additional damage consisted of a separated right landing gear, a bent propeller blade, and scrape marks on the right wingtip and elevator. At the time this report was completed, the pilot had not submitted NTSB form 6120.1, Pilot/Operator Accident/Incident Report as requested.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1678G
- Reported as
- Champion 7KCAB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 133
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320 SERIES, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dale's Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Schindler Rick M
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KOFK · North Fork, NE
- Destination
- KOFK · North Fork, NE
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- KOFK · Karl Stefan Memorial Airport, runway 01, 5,800 × 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Unknown
- Seat
- Front
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- KOFK
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 1, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 225 KB 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.