- Date
- July 27, 1997, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Franktown, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N443MWWonder RV-6
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 10, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970727047279A
- Case key
- 20294
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 control of the aircraft during landing roll. A factor was the uneven runway surface.
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
During landing roll, at a private grass air strip, a bump was encountered and the nose of the aircraft pitched down. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted causing damage to the right wing and vertical stabilizer.
Factual narrative
On July 27, 1997, at 1000 mountain daylight time, a Wonder RV-6, N443MW, nosed over during landing roll at Kostroski Field (43CO), a private airport, 5 miles east of Franktown, Colorado. The airline transport certificated pilot, sole occupant, was not injured and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this local area personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado, at 0948.
After over flying the field of intended landing to check the field and wind, the pilot said she performed a wheel landing using 20 degrees of flaps and a speed of 75 miles per hour. According to her statement, during landing roll, with the tail wheel still in the air, a bump was encountered on the runway and the aircraft nosed over causing substantial damage to the right wing and vertical stabilizer.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N443MW
- Reported as
- Wonder RV-6
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 21057
- Airframe hours
- 416
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lois D. Kowalski
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 20, 1997 · 51 hours before
- Departed
- APA · Englewood, CO
- Airport
- 43CO · Kostroski, runway 27, 2,700 × 50 ft, grass/turf
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
- 56
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,541 total · 80 in this make and model · 3,404 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APA, 10 nm away
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 N443MW · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.