- Date
- August 15, 2004, 15:23 local (20:23 UTC)
- Place
- Elkhart, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4303APiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20040815028009A
- Case key
- 59979
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 failure of the seat during landing roll and the subsequent pilot's airplane handling not being possible.
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 tailwheel airplane sustained substantial damage when the airplane ground looped during a landing on runway. The pilot's accident report stated, "Landed and during rollout [pilot in command] seat fell backwards. Pilot was unable to control rollout and airplane ground looped."
Factual narrative
On August 15, 2004, about 1523 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150, N4303A, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when the airplane ground looped during a landing on runway 27 at Elkhart Municipal Airport (EKM), near Elkhart, Indiana. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Elkhart, Indiana and was landing at EKM at the time of the accident.
The pilot's accident report stated:
Set up for a [right] downwind to [runway] 27 [at] Elkhart. Landed
and during rollout [pilot in command] seat fell backwards. Pilot
was unable to control rollout and airplane ground looped.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4303A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-3653
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Craig David Nelund
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Elkhart, IN
- Destination
- EKM · Elkhart, IN
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 15 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- EKM
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.