- Date
- August 24, 2019, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Waco, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N173JEAmerican Legend AL3C
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 17, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190824023509A
- Case key
- 100140
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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and noseover.
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 flight instructor reported that the student pilot had touched down on his fourth landing of the training flight. During the landing roll, the student overcontrolled the rudder, and the airplane veered left, and he then overcorrected to the right. The instructor took the flight controls and applied left rudder and left brake, but the airplane exited the right side of the runway, sank into soft dirt, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and left wing lift strut. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor in the back seat of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, the student pilot in the front seat had touched down on his fourth landing of the training flight. During the landing roll, the student over-controlled the rudder and the airplane veered left, and then overcorrected to the right. The instructor came onto the flight controls and applied left rudder and left brake to control the airplane back to the left. However, the airplane exited the right side of the runway and sank into the soft dirt and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and the left wing lift-strut. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N173JE
- Reported as
- American Legend AL3C (100)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AL-1025
- Airframe hours
- 617
- Engine
- Lycoming O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Unknown
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 28, 2019
- Departed
- 3T8 · Waco, TX
- Destination
- 3T8 · Waco, TX
- Airport
- 3T8 · Wildcat Canyon, runway 15, 2,450 × 60 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 28, 2019
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,059 total · 684 in this make and model · 990 as pilot in command · 199 in the last 90 days · 74 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 16
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 9 total · 9 in this make and model · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KACT, 8 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.9 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.