- Date
- June 12, 1999, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Panhandle, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2699MPiper PA-12
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 7, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990612045519A
- Case key
- 46552
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 directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. A factor was the noise heard by the pilot that resulted in his decision to execute a precautionary landing.
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
The pilot lost control of the 1946 model tail-wheel equipped airplane during the landing roll following a precautionary landing on a road. According to the pilot, he heard a 'loud pop' while in cruise flight. The pilot elected to make a precautionary landing because of his concern with the age of the airplane. During the landing roll, the pilot allowed the airplane to drift to the right side of the road 'thinking he was going too slow for it to matter.' The tires sunk into the soft ground on the side of the road, and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted.
Factual narrative
On June 12, 1999, approximately 1215 central daylight time, a Piper PA-12 tail-wheel equipped airplane, N2699M, owned by the Amarillo Cub Club of Amarillo, Texas, and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a precautionary landing near Panhandle, Texas. The instrument rated commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated from Amarillo, Texas, approximately 1130 and was destined for Panhandle, Texas.
During a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot stated that during a turn, he heard a "loud pop." The pilot was "concerned since it was an older airplane" and elected to make a precautionary landing on a road. During the landing roll, the airplane was "pushed to the side of the road" where the tires sunk into the soft shoulder, and subsequently, the airplane nosed over. According to the FAA inspector, the pilot stated that "he let the airplane drift to the side of the road while it was slowing down, thinking that he was going too slow to matter."
The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, the winds were from the east at 5 knots.
According to an aircraft mechanic who examined the 1946 model airplane, both wing struts were buckled and the wing spars were bent. Additional damage was sustained by the propeller and the engine cowling. The aircraft mechanic and the FAA inspector examined the airplane and found no anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented normal flight operations. According to the aircraft's maintenance records, the most recent annual inspection was completed on February 4, 1999.
The pilot had accumulated approximately 1,348 hours total flight time, of which 30 hours were in the PA-12.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2699M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12-1203
- Airframe hours
- 2,496
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rudy F. Robinson
- Registered owner
- Amarillo Cub Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 4, 1999 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- 1E7 · Amarillo, TX
- Destination
- T45 · TX
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,348 total · 30 in this make and model · 1,195 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.