- Date
- March 29, 2023, 09:17 local (13:17 UTC)
- Place
- Lakeland, FL · On runway 28
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N791MHNorth American T-6G
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- 20230329009769A
- Case key
- 106975
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
A loss of control on the ground as a result of left tailwheel steering cable separation.
Findings · 1
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
According to the pilot, he performed a wheel landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. As he lowered the tailwheel, the airplane turned right, and he applied left rudder to continue straight. As soon as he applied the rudder pressure, he “felt something pop” and the airplane continued to turn right, resulting in a ground loop. In the accident sequence, the left main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. Post accident examination of the tailwheel steering system noted that the left tailwheel steering cable separated.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N791MH
- Reported as
- North American T-6G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5114791
- Built
- 1951
- Airframe hours
- 8,610.1
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 2, 2023
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- LAL · Lakeland Linder Intl, runway 28, 8,500 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, 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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 4, 2023
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 110,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 10,000 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- LAL, 2 nm away
- METAR
- KLAL 291250Z 03008KT 10SM SCT033 22/19 A3007
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 29, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.3 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.