# NTSB CEN18LA222: Taylorcraft BC12 D, N43443, Santa Teresa, NM, June 10, 2018 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: June 10, 2018, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Santa Teresa, NM - Coordinates: 31.880556, -106.70333 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8806&lon=-106.7033&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 97448 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN18LA222 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/97448/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=97448 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA222 ## Probable cause The pilot's loss of directional control during landing in gusting crosswind conditions for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Taylorcraft BC12-D, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=8850316), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Taylorcraft BC12-D, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=8850316), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Wind: gusts](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Taylorcraft BC12-D, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045/cases.md?model=8850316), [All aircraft, 1,199 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Taylorcraft BC12-D, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=8850316), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that, during a touch-and-go landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane, he felt an "unusual mechanical sensation," but was able to maintain directional control and continued the takeoff. During his second landing approach, the airplane “aggressively weathercocked” into the wind on short final approach and the airplane touched down tailwheel first. During the landing roll, the airplane started to veer left, and the pilot was unable to correct with rudder input. The airplane continued off the left side of the runway and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage. After the accident, the pilot noted that the left rudder spring had disconnected from the arm of the steerable tailwheel and the safety wire was missing. The pilot reconnected the spring before the airplane could be examined; whether the tailwheel spring contributed to the loss of control could not be determined. The recorded weather conditions about the time of the accident included a left quartering tailwind at 6 knots with gusts to 13 knots for the landing runway. ## Factual narrative On June 10, 2018, about 1200 mountain daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC-12D airplane, N43443, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing on runway 28 when he felt an “unusual mechanical sensation” just before rotation. He departed again and remained in the airport traffic pattern for runway 28. Upon turning from base to final, the pilot saw two white and two red lights on the precision approach path indicator and also noticed the windsock indicating erratic wind directions, varying between a headwind and crosswind. As the airplane neared the runway, he then felt it “aggressively weathercock” to the left from a crosswind gust, and he applied control inputs to realign the airplane. The pilot decided it was too late to perform a go-around and chose to continue the landing. The tailwheel contacted the runway first, followed by the main gear. The pilot pulled the throttle back completely to idle, but the rudder inputs seemed only “partially responsive,” and the airplane continued to veer off the runway toward the left. He applied full rudder and heel-brakes to prevent a ground loop; however, the airplane continued to veer left, then exited the runway and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and rudder. The recorded wind about the time of the accident was from 160° at 6 knots with gusts to 13 knots. Following the accident, the pilot performed a visual inspection of the airplane and noted that the left rudder spring had disconnected from the tailwheel control arm and the safety wire was missing. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane and saw that the left rudder spring had been reattached. The pilot reported that, after the accident, he and a mechanic had reattached the spring. After looking at the assembly, the FAA inspector was unable to determine whether the spring detached during or prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N43443](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N43443), registered now, S/N 7102 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: TAYLORCRAFT BC12 D (D) - Registry model: [Taylorcraft BC12-D](https://openairdocs.org/model/taylorcraft-bc12-d) (registry code 8850316) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 7102 - Year built: 1946 - Airframe hours: 2300 - Engines: Continental A65-8F 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 9, 2017, 85 hours before - Departed: KELP, El Paso, TX - Destination: NM05, Anthony, NM - Airport: DNA, Dona Ana County International Airport, runway 28, 9,550 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 59; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 11, 2016; seat: left; flight hours: 340 total, 95 in this make and model, 233 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 6 knots, gusting 13 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: KDNA ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20180610007489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180610007489A), Jun 10, 2018: Taylorcraft BC12-D, Santa Teresa, NM, Substantial damage. On June 10, 2018 at approximately 11:00 MDT, a Taylorcraft BC-12D registered to [privacy data omitted] departed the runway at Dona ana county international… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 4, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=97448. 2.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11719092&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN18LA222%20Completed%206120_1_N43443%20w%20blocks1_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Accident airplane photographs (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 1.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11719528&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Airplane%20Photos%20for%20Docket-Rel.pdf - Memorandum of record for information from FAA (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 127 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11719399&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Record%20for%20Info%20from%20FAA-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.