- Date
- September 29, 2021, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Brooksville, FL · Runway/taxiway
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N68TWDoan Vernon D W10-WITTMAN Tailwind
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210929016829A
- Case key
- 103992
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 failure of the nose landing gear retention bolt during taxi which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent impact with the taxiway.
Findings · 3
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 pilot reported that after landing, he applied the brakes and felt a “violent shimmy.” He released the brakes and the nose landing gear leg rotated left and aft which resulted in the right wing impacting the runway surface. A post-accident examination revealed that the nose landing gear retention bolt had sheared and the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot stated that he was the second owner and noticed that the original builder had not followed the design plans for the airplane, so the pilot modified the nose wheel attach plate to strengthen it but did not modify the gear assembly attach point which resulted in the failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68TW
- Reported as
- Doan Vernon D W10-WITTMAN Tailwind
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 881
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 42
- Engine
- Viking Honda 195T, 195 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wagner Merle F
- Registered owner
- Wagner Merle F
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · July 21, 2021 · 14 hours before
- Airport
- BKV · Brooksville-Tampa Bay Rgnl, runway 9, 7,001 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B
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
- 79
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 4, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 985 total · 12 in this make and model · 985 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- BKV
- METAR
- METAR KBKV 291553Z 02007KT 10SM CLR 29/17 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP174 T02940172=
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 5, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.