- Date
- June 3, 2023, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rutherfordton, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5068XChampion 7KCAB
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- 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) CHARLOTTE FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230603011529A
- Case key
- 192323
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 disengagement of the tailwheel locking mechanism during the landing roll which resulted in a loss of directional control during landing with a crosswind.
Findings · 4
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 of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported he was performing a 3-point landing with a right 90° crosswind. During the landing, the tailwheel began to "shimmy." The pilot applied forward control stick pressure to reduce weight on the tailwheel and attempt to alleviate the shimmy but did not have enough airspeed to lift the tail and correct the shimmy. The pilot reported that as airspeed decayed, he applied full “aft stick” and full left rudder, but the airplane continued to drift to the right. In an attempt to prevent a runway excursion, the pilot applied the wheel brakes and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and damage to the propeller, spinner and cowling. The pilot reported that postaccident examination of the tailwheel locking mechanism revealed that it was worn and would not lock to the right. Loose tail wheel attachment hardware was also noted. The condition of the tailwheel should have been checked during the last annual inspection; however, it is possible that the locking mechanism could have worn further during the 7 months between the most recent inspection and the accident flight. At the time of the accident the airplane was landing on runway 01 with wind 060° at 8 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5068X
- Reported as
- Champion 7KCAB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 151
- Built
- 1968
- Airframe hours
- 3,514.64
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Prize Steer II, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2022
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FQD · Rutherford County/Marchman Fld, runway 1, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 25, 2023
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 16,600 total · 30 in this make and model · 4,000 as pilot in command · 82 in the last 90 days · 52 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- KFQD
- METAR
- KFQD 031705Z AUTO 10011KT 070V130 10SM CLR 30/13 A2989 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 7, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.1 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.