- Date
- July 17, 2000, 21:00 local (Jul 18, 2000, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Decatur, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5080MTaylorcraft BC12-D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 49744
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 left main landing gear brake was locked during landing. A factor associated with the accident was the uneven terrain on which the landing was made.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane nosed over on landing at a private, grass airstrip. The pilot reported that just after touchdown, the airplane suddenly nosed over. He reported that after the accident, he noted a long skid mark in the grass from the left main gear that lead up to the point where the airplane nosed over. Investigation revealed the grass airstrip contained bare areas where the grass had died. The tire marks in the grass showed the airplane was sliding during the landing roll and it nosed over when it contacted one of the bare areas. The left main wheel brake was found locked up after the accident.
Factual narrative
On July 17, 2000, at 2100 eastern daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D, N5080M, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over following a landing at a private airstrip near Decatur, Michigan. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported minor injuries. The flight departed the private airstrip at 2000 edt, for the local flight.
The pilot reported that he was returning to his private airstrip following a local flight. He reported that he flew over the field to check the winds, which were indicating calm. The pilot stated he landed to the south and after he touched down the airplane suddenly nosed over. He reported that after the accident, he noted a long skid mark in the grass from the left main gear that lead up to the point where the airplane nosed over.
An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration Grand Rapids, Michigan, Flight Standards District Office, examined the airplane and accident site. The inspector reported that the grass airstrip contained bare areas where the grass had died. He reported that tire marks in the grass showed the airplane was sliding during the landing roll and it nosed over when it contacted one of the bare areas. The inspector also stated that the left main wheel brake was locked up when he inspected the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5080M
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft BC12-D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 10380
- Airframe hours
- 1,748
- Engine
- Continental C85-12F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eric O Richardson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 2, 2000 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- PVT
- Airport
- PVT · Private, runway 18, 1,300 × 140 ft, grass/turf
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 322 total · 312 in this make and model · 322 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
Other investigations on N5080M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.