- Date
- July 6, 2003, 10:10 local (16:10 UTC)
- Place
- Vernal, UT
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N121NStinson 108-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20030706013679A
- Case key
- 57502
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 improper recovery from a bounced landing, and his failure to maintain directional control during landing that resulted in an inadvertent ground loop/swerve.
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 was landing on runway 34. The tail wheel touched down first and the airplane bounced on its main landing gear. The pilot "overcorrected first right, then left," and the airplane skidded "with the left wing down" and went off the left side of the runway. Postaccident examination revealed the top left wing skin was wrinkled and several ribs were damaged. The AWOS observation indicated the wind was calm.
Factual narrative
On July 6, 2003, approximately 1010 mountain daylight time, a Stinson 108-3, N121N, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain at Vernal Airport, Vernal, Utah. The private pilot and his three passengers were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan had been filed for the personal cross-country flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Fort Collins, Colorado, approximately 0730.
According to the pilot's accident report, he was landing on runway 34. The tail wheel touched down first and the airplane bounced on its main landing gear. The pilot "overcorrected first right, then left," and the airplane skidded "with the left wing down" and went off the left side of the runway. Postaccident examination revealed the top left wing skin was wrinkled and several ribs were damaged.
The 0953 AWOS observation at Vernal, Utah, indicated the wind was calm.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N121N
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-4449
- Airframe hours
- 2,798
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-165-B3, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Paul J. Foster
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 14, 2003 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- 3V5 · Fort Collins, CO
- Destination
- VEL · Vernal, UT
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- VEL · Vernal, runway 34, 6,200 × 150 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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 14, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 830 total · 78 in this make and model · 686 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- VEL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.