- Date
- August 22, 2025, 08:44 local (14:44 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N18852Parks Fokker D-VII Replica
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250822011379A
- Case key
- 200837
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
A malfunction of the tailwheel which resulted in a runway excursion and 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
The pilot reported that during the landing roll the tailwheel malfunctioned, which resulted in a runway excursion and ground loop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the upper left wing and lower right wing. The pilot submitted a photo taken just before touch down that showed the tailwheel not locked into position and was deflected to the left as the rudder was deflected to the right.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18852
- Reported as
- Parks Fokker D-VII Replica
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 20
- Built
- 1979
- Engine
- Ranger 6-440-C5, 200 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lafayette Foundation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 16, 2025
- Departed
- 18V · Hudson, CO
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KAPA · Centennial, runway 10/28, 4,800 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- September 14, 2023
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,371 total · 10.2 in this make and model · 1,312.4 as pilot in command · 114.4 in the last 90 days · 40.2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.38 inHg
- Observed at
- KAPA, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KAPA 221453Z 36004KT 10SM FEW070 SCT120 BKN220 22/09 A3026 RMK AO2 SLP165 T02220094 53005
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 23, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 779 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.