- Date
- October 6, 2022, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Waldron, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N717ABWaszak Arthur B Wittman Tailwind W10
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20221006015949A
- Case key
- 106091
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 adequate airspeed during the landing resulting in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and hard 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 he was conducting his first flight in the airplane and practiced some basic stall maneuvers at altitude before attempting to land. During the first attempted landing, the airplane landed hard from about 2 ft above ground level (agl), and the pilot performed a go-around. During the second landing, about 8 ft agl, he reduced engine power and [the airplane] “bottomed out.” He stated the airplane bounced uncontrollably, nosed over, bounced again, spun to the right and flipped over, coming to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot’s statement included a recommendation to acquire transition training in a “new to you” airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N717AB
- Reported as
- Waszak Arthur B Wittman Tailwind W10
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 717
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 5
- Engine
- Continental O-300 Ser, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · June 1, 2022
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- M27 · M27, runway 27, 3,650 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 75
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 15, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 1 in this make and model · 2,500 as pilot in command · 31.5 in the last 90 days · 18.1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- KMEZ, 20 nm away
- METAR
- KMEZ 061715Z AUTO 29010KT 10SM CLR 29/09 A3018 RMK AO2 P0100 T02850090 $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 24, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 61.9 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.