CHI96LA251

Witnesses observed the airplane bounce 6 to 9 times during landing. The airplane departed the side of the runway and ground looped. The airplane was equipped with tundra tires. There were no mechanical anomalies with the brakes or tailwheel found during the investigation. The pilot had received a 1.5 hour biennial flight review five days before the accident. His last recorded flight was 4 years before the flight review, and his last recorded tailwheel flight was 8 years before the flight review.

On July 21, 1996, at 1400 central daylight time (cdt), a Maule M5-210TC, N5646N, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it ground lopped during landing and veered off the east side of runway 17 (4,009' X 75' dry asphalt) at the Johnson County Executive Airport, Olathe, Kansas. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed St. Louis, Missouri, at 1100 cdt.

The pilot said the airplane "...pulled right upon roll out from landing at about 20 to 25 MPH." He said he applied left brake to counter the right turn. The airplane ground looped and went off the east edge of runway 17.

An air traffic control tower operator reported the airplane bounced 6 to 9 times before departing the runway's east edge and ground looping to the right. The airplane was equipped with tundra tires according to a Federal Aviation Administration Principal Operations inspector (POI). The wind at the time of the accident was reported to be light and variable.

The POI said a brake and tailwheel inspection revealed no anomalies that would cause a loss of control during ground operations. A review of the pilot's logbook showed the pilot had completed a biennial flight review (flight review) on July 16, 1996. The entry showed he flew the airplane 1.5 hours and completed 8 landings. The next most recent tailwheel flight shown in the logbook was January 23, 1988, in a Cessna 150. The last entry in the pilot's logbook before the flight review was dated July 15, 1992. This flight was in a multi-engine airplane that was listed as a 2.6 hour cross country flight.