- Date
- July 31, 2001, 13:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Warrenton, VA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N66FWSteen Skybolt
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 13, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010731022329A
- Case key
- 53334
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 during landing, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
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 CFI was giving tailwheel instruction to the private pilot. After one hour of practicing grass landings, they returned to the airport for a full-stop landing. During touchdown, the pilot applied "too much rudder," the tailwheel began to shimmy, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. No mechanical deficiencies were reported by the pilots. The CFI reported 23,000 hours of total flight time, 3,800 hours of tail wheel flight time, and 10 hours of flight time in make and model. The winds reported at an airport 8 miles away, were from 130 degrees at 3 knots.
Factual narrative
On July 31, 2001, at 1350 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Skybolt, N66FW, was substantially damaged during landing at the Warrenton-Fauquier Airport (W66), Warrenton, Virginia. The certified flight instructor and private pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the flight instructor, he was giving tail wheel instruction to the private pilot. They practiced landings for about an hour in a grass field, and then returned to Warrenton for a full stop landing on runway 14. The flight instructor reported that the wind was "light but cross from the right," and he instructed the student to perform the landing. He stated there was "too much rudder input" at touchdown, the tail wheel began to shimmy, and the aircraft swerved to the right. The flight instructor stated he was unable to correct the swerve, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway.
The flight instructor reported 23,000 hours of total flight time, 3,800 hours of tail wheel flight time, and 10 hours of flight time in make and model. He also reported there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane.
The private pilot reported 115 hours of total flight experience, 6 hours of which were in make and model.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane. According to the inspector, the fuselage was "buckled," and substantial damage was noted to the vertical and horizontal stabilizers.
The winds reported at the Culpeper Regional Airport, 8 miles away, were from 130 degrees at 3 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66FW
- Reported as
- Steen Skybolt
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- FDW66
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Taylor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- W66 · Warrenton, VA
- Destination
- W66 · Warrenton, VA
- Airport
- W66 · Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, runway 14, 4,103 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2000
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 23,000 total · 10 in this make and model · 23,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 115 total · 6 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Observed at
- CJR, 8 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.