- Date
- June 24, 2002, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Giddings, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N83DHAmerican Champion 8KCAB
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020624013639A
- Case key
- 55052
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 pilot to maintain aircraft control during the landing rollout. A contributing factor was the subsequent inadvertent ground loop of the airplane.
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 pilot said that he was landing on runway 17, and the airplane suddenly veered "hard" to the right and exited the runway. The left main axle support structure failed, and the left main wheel separated from the airplane. The left strut dug into the ground, and the airplane came to rest on its left wing. The outer 6 feet of the left wing was bent up approximately 35 degrees, and the left side of the elevator was bent. The pilot estimated the wind, at the time of the accident, to be 240 degrees at 3 to 5 knots.
Factual narrative
On June 24, 2002, at approximately 1100 central daylight time, a American Champion 8KCAB (Decathlon), N83DH, was substantially damaged during a ground loop on landing roll at Giddings-Lee County Airport, Giddings, Texas. The private pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that had originated from Weiser Airpark, Houston, Texas, approximately 45 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.
The pilot said that he was landing on runway 17, and the airplane suddenly veered "hard" to the right and exited the runway. The left main axle support structure failed, and the left main wheel separated from the airplane. The left strut dug into the ground, and the airplane came to rest on its left wing. The outer 6 feet of the left wing was bent up approximately 35 degrees, and the left side of the elevator was bent.
The pilot estimated the wind, at the time of the accident, to be 240 degrees at 3 to 5 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83DH
- Reported as
- American Champion 8KCAB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 786-96
- Airframe hours
- 166
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-360 H1B, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard E. Hoffman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 9, 2002 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- EYQ · Houston, TX
- Destination
- 62H · Giddings, TX
- Airport
- 62H · Giddings-Lee County Arpt, runway 17, 3,998 × 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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 14, 2002
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 563 total · 320 in this make and model · 471 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- CLL, 40 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 301 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N83DH · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.