- Date
- July 15, 1994, 15:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Harvard, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N8512CPiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940715027369A
- Case key
- 9602
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 pilot's excessive taxi speed. A factor in the accident was the wet grass runway.
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 private pilot landed on the wet grass airstrip, completed the landing roll, and began to taxi back to the runway for takeoff. The runway sloped down slightly, and as he applied the brakes and rudder to turn the airplane to the right, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane became inverted. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or difficulties with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On July 15, 1994, at 1510 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22, N8512C, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during taxi on an private airstrip near Harvard, Illinois. The pilot was not injured. The personal flight originated in Big Foot, Wisconsin. No flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he had landed on the wet grass airstrip, completed the landing roll, and began to taxi back to the runway at an estimated five to ten MPH for takeoff. The runway sloped down slightly, and as he applied the brakes and rudder to turn the airplane to the right, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane became inverted.
The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunction or difficulties with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8512C
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-1223
- Airframe hours
- 1,800
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D2, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Edwin D. Swart
- Registered owner
- Edwin D. Swart
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 15, 1993 · 68 hours before
- Departed
- WI05 · Big Foot, WI
- Airport
- NONE · Susan Dacy, runway 18, 2,000 × 300 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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,162 total · 505 in this make and model · 1,107 as pilot in command · 160 in the last 90 days · 54 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.