- Date
- January 20, 2006, 17:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lometa, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N13708Pietenpol Aircamper
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report May 30, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20060120000719A
- Case key
- 63155
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 failure to maintain directional control while landing. Contributing factors were the sun glare and the rough and uneven landing area.
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 3,200-hour private pilot of a single-engine tail-wheel-equipped experimental airplane was landing on a rough and uneven 2,900-foot by 50-foot wide grass runway at a private airstrip. The pilot reported that his vision became impaired by the glare of the sun during the touchdown sequence. The left main lading gear collapsed after it impacted a rock, resulting in structural damage to the airplane. No mechanical anomalies were reported with the engine or the flight controls. The pilot reported the wind was light and variable at the time of the accident. The pilot further reported that landing the airplane in the opposite direction (away from the sun) would have been an option.
Factual narrative
The 3,200-hour private pilot of a single-engine tail-wheel-equipped experimental airplane was landing on a rough and uneven 2,900-foot by 50-foot wide grass runway at a private airstrip. The pilot reported that his vision became impaired by the glare of the sun during the touchdown sequence. The left main lading gear collapsed after it impacted a rock, resulting in structural damage to the airplane. No mechanical anomalies were reported with the engine or the flight controls. The pilot reported the wind was light and variable at the time of the accident. The pilot further reported that landing the airplane in the opposite direction (away from the sun) would have been an option.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N13708
- Reported as
- Pietenpol Aircamper
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 305
- Airframe hours
- 1,000
- Engine
- Subaru E-81, 70 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Merle Neyman
- Registered owner
- Doyle Combs
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2006
- Departed
- 7ET3 · Lometa, TX
- Destination
- Lometa, TX
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
- 84
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2005
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,200 total · 700 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
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 N13708 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.