- Date
- November 17, 2002, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Elbert, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7197CNorth American T-6G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Denver Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20021117030649A
- Case key
- 56071
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
overload failure of the cable between the left rudder pedal and the tail wheel, rendering directional control impossible and resulting in an inadvertent ground loop and nose over. Contributing factors were the crosswind and the soft, wet ground.
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 after a short flight, he made a normal landing on runway 17, touching down at 75 to 80 mph. The wind was from 220 degrees at 14 knots. He used left rudder and tail wheel steering to keep the airplane from weathervaning into the wind. About 1,000 feet into the landing roll, the airplane veered sharply to the right. The pilot attempted to correct with opposite braking, but to no avail. The airplane went off the 36 foot wide runway about 40 mph onto soft ground and nosed over. According to the pilot, when the airplane was retrieved, it was noted that the cable between the left rudder pedal pulley and the tail wheel was broken.
Factual narrative
On November 17, 2002, about 1030 mountain standard time, a North American T-6G, N7197C, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during landing roll at Kelly Airpark, Elbert, Colorado. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Elbert about 1015.
The purpose of the flight was to take young children on their first airplane ride under the "Young Eagles" program. The pilot said that after a short flight, he made a normal three-point landing on runway 17, touching down at 75 to 80 mph. The wind was from 220 degrees at 14 knots. He used left rudder and tail wheel steering to keep the airplane from weathervaning into the wind. About 1,000 feet into the landing roll, the airplane veered sharply to the right. The pilot attempted to correct with opposite braking, but to no avail. The airplane went off the 36 foot wide runway about 40 mph onto soft ground and nosed over.
According to the pilot, when the airplane was retrieved, it was noted that the cable between the left rudder pedal pulley and the tail wheel was broken.
Airplane damage consisted of a crushed vertical stabilizer and rudder, left wing leading edge and tip, canopy, spinner and cowling, and a bent propeller. The engine, engine mounts, and firewall were also damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7197C
- Reported as
- North American T-6G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 492897
- Airframe hours
- 6,309
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney 41-9754, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Edward Huber
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 21, 2002 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- CO15 · Elbert, CO
- Destination
- CO15 · Elbert, CO
- Airport
- C015 · Kelly Air Park, runway 17, 3,800 × 24 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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- January 15, 2002
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 6,417 total · 1,242 in this make and model · 6,112 as pilot in command · 53 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 22,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- AFF, 17 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.
Other investigations on N7197C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.