- Date
- July 27, 2008, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Erie, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N496WCurtiss-Wright 12Q
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080727841759A
- Case key
- 68525
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
Failure of the tail wheel control cable during landing roll out, which resulted in a loss of control.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The commercial pilot was returning from a local flight in his vintage single-engine, bi-wing airplane, which was equipped with a tail wheel. He said the winds were light and variable when he made a normal landing on the asphalt runway. However, during the landing roll-out, the airplane suddenly entered a left turn and the pilot was unable to correct with right rudder and brake. The airplane entered the grass area adjacent to the runway, dragging its right wing tip, before it came to rest up on its nose. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the tail wheel control cable had disconnected from the spring on the right side, which caused the left side spring to pull the tail wheel to the left. In addition, two ribs in the lower right wing were broken.
Factual narrative
The commercial pilot was returning from a local flight in his vintage single-engine, bi-wing airplane, which was equipped with a tail wheel. He said the winds were light and variable when he made a normal landing on the asphalt runway. However, during the landing roll-out, the airplane suddenly entered a left turn and the pilot was unable to correct with right rudder and brake. The airplane entered the grass area adjacent to the runway, dragging its right wing tip, before it came to rest up on its nose. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the tail wheel control cable had disconnected from the spring on the right side, which caused the left side spring to pull the tail wheel to the left. In addition, two ribs in the lower right wing were broken.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N496W
- Reported as
- Curtiss-Wright 12Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2023
- Engine
- Lycoming RL-3247-27, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jeff Caplitz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- EIK · Erie, CO
- Destination
- EIK · Erie, CO
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
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
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 N496W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.