IAD00LA077

Witnesses reported that the homebuilt airplane swerved and "zig-zagged" during the landing roll. The airplane departed the runway, crossed a parking area, and collided with a parked airplane. According to the pilot owner, "I was landing on Runway 05 with a little bit of a right crosswind. I didn't fully correct, ran off the left side of the runway, and struck a parked aircraft. I had a passenger with me, and because I didn't have a lot of experience with passengers, I carried a little extra speed, and that probably contributed." The pilot said there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane.

On August 19, 2000, at 1450 Eastern Daylight Time, a homebuilt Europa Tri-Gear airplane, N82716, was substantially damaged from collision with a parked airplane after landing at the Doylestown Airport (DYL), Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot/owner and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at Newport State Airport (UUU), Newport, Rhode Island, approximately 1230. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

In a written statement, one witness said he was in front of the airport terminal building when the accident occurred. He said:

"I first noticed the Europa aircraft after it landed and was rolling out on the runway. It appeared to have landed well within the first third of the runway. I noticed the pilot seemed to be having trouble maintaining directional control during the landing. The nose of the aircraft swerved back and forth two or three times - sufficient that I thought to myself: I wonder whether this guy is going to be able to keep the thing on the runway? ...Just then, the aircraft departed the runway to the left, crossed the transient ramp narrowly missing two parked aircraft, and struck a Cessna 172 that was tied down on the ramp."

In a telephone interview, the passenger said she was a recreational pilot with approximately 300 hours of flight experience. She said the flight was completely uneventful and that the airplane was operating with no deficiencies noted. She said:

"We were saying how well it was flying. When we came in, I just felt we were coming in a little fast. It's a tail dragger. When we touched down it went 'zig-zag, zig-zag, zig-zag' and [the pilot] couldn't keep it on the runway. It just zig-zagged off."

In a telephone interview, the pilot explained that the Europa had a mono-wheel main landing gear and tail wheel configuration. He further stated that outrigger wheels were mounted on the wing flaps. According to the pilot:

"I was landing on Runway 05 with a little bit of a right crosswind. I didn't fully correct, ran off the left side of the runway, and struck a parked aircraft. I had a passenger with me, and because I didn't have a lot of experience with passengers, I carried a little extra speed, and that probably contributed."

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. He reported approximately 1,000 hours of flight experience, 69 hours of which were in the Europa.

The weather reported at Doylestown was scattered clouds at 4,200 feet with winds from 310 degrees at 9 knots.