- Date
- June 28, 2019, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lincoln, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2RGGrosch Starduster TOO
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190628008389A
- Case key
- 99884
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 improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing, subsequent loss of directional control, runway excursion, and ground-loop.
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, during the third landing that day, the biplane landed hard and veered off the left side of the runway. The airplane ground looped, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot added that he thought the tailwheel was swiveling but not turning with the rudder. While working on repairs, he observed that the shear pins on the tailwheel had sheared off. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower right wing. The airplane was not made available to the National Transportation Safety Board for examination, so the reason for the anomaly reported by the pilot could not be determined.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, during the third landing, the biplane landed hard and veered off the left side of the runway. The airplane ground looped and the left main landing gear collapsed. He added that he thought the tailwheel was swiveling, but not turning with the rudder. While working on repairs, he observed that the shear pins on the "Mollie heavy duty tailwheel" sheared off, which resulted in the tailwheel not working properly. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower right wing. The airport's automated weather observation station reported that, about 8 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 200° at 3 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 15. The airplane was not made available to the Federal Aviation Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board for examination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2RG
- Reported as
- Grosch Starduster TOO (SA-30)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 563
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 99
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination
- LHM · Lincoln, CA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- LHM · Lincoln Rgnl/Karl Harder Field, runway 15, 6,001 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 87
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KLHM
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 24, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 463 KB 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.
Other investigations on N2RG · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.