# NTSB ERA20LA055: Piper PA18, N1984A, New Market, VA, December 15, 2019 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: December 15, 2019, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: New Market, VA - Coordinates: 38.656112, -78.70861 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.6561&lon=-78.7086&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 100693 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA20LA055 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/100693/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100693 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA055 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper touchdown, which resulted in a hard landing and an overload failure of the right main landing gear leg and its associated shock/dampener. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=7101804), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=7101804), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=7101804), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=7101804), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=7101804), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis According to the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane, the airplane immediately rolled right and pitched forward at touchdown. The pilot's corrective control inputs had "no effect"; the airplane continued 100 ft past its touchdown point and came to rest facing about 40° off centerline with the tailwheel on the runway centerline. The right main landing gear leg and shock/dampener fractured, and the right wing was substantially damaged. Metallurgical examination of the right main landing gear leg and gear shock/dampener revealed no pre-impact anomalies, and the fracture surfaces of each displayed features consistent with overload failure. Thus, it is likely that the failure of the landing gear was a result of a hard landing. ## Factual narrative On December 15, 2019, about 1300 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-18A, N1984A, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident while landing at the New Market Airport (8W2), New Market, Virginia. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to deliver the airplane from its previous owner to its new owner and that he had just landed "uneventfully" and purchased fuel at 8W2. After he purchased fuel, he completed a traffic pattern at 8W2, and planned a stop-and-go landing on runway 24 before continuing to Lonesome Pine Airport (LNP), Wise, Virginia. According to the pilot, "I rounded out over the runway numbers and touched down approximately 150 feet past the threshold. As soon as the wheels touched the ground, the airplane immediately rolled right and pitched forward." The pilot made remedial flight control and braking inputs to maintain aircraft control "with no effect." The airplane continued 100 ft past its touchdown point and came to rest facing about 200° with the tailwheel on the runway centerline. The right main landing gear leg and the right main landing gear shock/dampener fractured, and the airplane rested on the left main gear, the tailwheel, and the right wing, which was substantially damaged. The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) first class medical certificate was issued December 6, 2019. The pilot reported 768 total hours of flight experience, of which 4 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 1952 and was powered by a Lycoming O-320-B2B 160-horsepower engine. Its most recent annual inspection was completed August 1, 2019 at 4,343.9 total aircraft hours, and the airplane had accrued 23 hours since that date. The pilot reported that, other than the landing gear collapse, there was nothing wrong with the performance and handling of the airplane. The right main landing gear leg and the right main landing gear shock/dampener were retained and examined by an NTSB Materials Research Engineer. The examination revealed no pre-impact anomalies with the dampener or the gear leg, and that the fracture surfaces of each displayed features consistent with overload failure. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1984A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1984A), registered now, S/N 18-1808, built 1952 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA18 (A) - Registry model: [Piper PA-18A](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18a) (registry code 7101804) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-290 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-290-series) (registry code 41506, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-1808 - Year built: 1952 - Airframe hours: 4343.9 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-B2B 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 21, 2019 - Departed: 8W2, Newmarket, VA - Destination: 8W2, Newmarket, VA - Airport: 8W2, New Market Airport, runway 24, 2,920 × 60 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Onboard weather, Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 23; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 768 total, 4 in this make and model, 689 as pilot in command, 98 in the last 90 days, 26 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 9 knots, gusting 16 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 48 °F, dew point 25 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: 8W2 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20191215019149A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191215019149A), Dec 15, 2019: Piper PA-18A, New Market, VA, Substantial damage. Right main gear damper strut sheared at the damper extension attach point. The right wing and propeller struck the runway causing the wing to bend upward at… ## Other investigations on N1984A (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB SEA06CA062](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA06CA062), Mar 4, 2006: Piper PA-18A (N1984A), Shady Cove, OR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper installation of the control stick during maintenance, which resulted in the control stick becoming disconnected during the initial takeoff climb, resulting in a loss of control… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 30, 2020, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100693. 12.5 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 5.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40483297&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Materials Laboratory Factual Report (item 2, .PDF, 6.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40483298&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Materials%20Laboratory%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF - Photo Array (item 3, .PDF, 833 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40483299&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%20Array-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.