- Date
- September 3, 1993, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Delevan, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N55501Boeing Stearman A75N1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 2, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930903032969A
- Case key
- 9304
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 excessive use of brakes and rudder by the pilot-in-command. A factor related to the accident was the pilot-in-command's lack of total experience in this type of aircraft.
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 vintage tailwheel airplane touched down on runway 36 with a crosswind. According to the front seat pilot/passenger, the airplane began to weather vane as the tailwheel touched down at which time the rear seat pilot made hard rudder and brake inputs. The airplane nosed over, damaging the vertical stabilizer and rudder and the top wing's upper surface.
Factual narrative
On September 3, 1993, at 1330 central daylight time (CDT), a Boeing/Stearman A75N1, N55501, registered to Jay Brost of Fontana, Wisconsin, and piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a landing roll following touchdown onto Runway 36 (4,400 x 75' dry asphalt) at the Lake Lawn Airport, Delevan, Wisconsin. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating under a flight plan. The flight originated from Harvard, Illinois, at 1300 CDT.
Written statements on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 submitted by both pilots state that the airplane had encountered a crosswind requiring rudder application. The pilot-in-command, in the rear seat, applied brake application "...excessively...", or "...hard...", instead of rudder control according to the front seat pilot/passenger. The pilot/passenger stated that airplane began to weather vane as the tailwheel was lowering, and that the "...PIC acted with hard rudder/brake which caused a/c to go over (on) its nose."
The on-scene investigation was conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration Principal Operations Inspector (POI). The POI stated the vertical stabilizer and rudder were crushed downward, and that the top wing of the airplane had rib and covering damage on its upper surface.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55501
- Reported as
- Boeing Stearman A75N1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 75-4740
- Engine
- Continental R-670, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jay Brost
- Registered owner
- Jay H. Brost
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Departed
- 0C0 · Harvard, IL
- Destination
- C59
- Airport
- C59 · Lake Lawn, runway 36, 4,400 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 20 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,700 ft broken
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JVL, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.