# NTSB IAD99LA017: Luscombe LL-8-C, N2619K, Caldwell, NJ, November 5, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 5, 1998, 13:54 local (18:54 UTC) - Place: Caldwell, NJ - Location: 40.8752° N, 74.2814° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ESSEX COUNTY (CDW), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.8752&lon=-74.2814&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 23, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 45351 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD99LA017 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45351/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99LA017 ## Probable cause The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control resulting in a ground-loop. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve ## Analysis The pilot reported that after an uneventful landing on runway 22 at the Essex County airport, the brakes locked and the airplane ground looped. A tower controller reported observing the aircraft land on runway 22 and then veer off the runway into the grass on the north side of taxiway bravo which is located approximately 1,500 feet upwind of the threshold for the runway, and is the first available taxiway exit to the midfield ramp area. Winds at the time of the accident were reported as variable at six knots. A maintenance representative from a local fixed base operator (FBO) recalled that several of his employees freely rolled the aircraft on its main wheels off the runway to the FBO's ramp subsequent to the accident. The aircraft was transported via flatbed truck from the Essex County Airport to Sky Acres airport, Lagrangeville, New York, for repairs. The facility effecting repairs reported that the post accident repairs included 'servicing of the brakes' but that no other corrective repair work had been done on the aircraft's Cleveland brakes. ## Factual narrative On November 5, 1998, at 1354 eastern standard time, a Luscombe LL-8-C, N2619K, registered to and being operated by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a loss of control on landing at the Essex County Airport, Caldwell, New Jersey. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed. The local, personal flight was to have been conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, a new engine had been installed in the airplane, and this was the first flight after maintenance and several months of the airplane being inactive. He said the landing on runway 22 was uneventful, but as he turned off the runway onto the taxiway, the brakes locked up, and the airplane ground looped. The pilot reported over 350 hours of total flight experience which included 90 hours in make and model. A controller in the airport's air traffic control tower reported that he "was working local control when I cleared N2619K to land. I watched N2619K veer off the runway onto the north side of taxiway bravo on the grass. R[unwa]y 22 was in use" (refer to attached ATTACHMENT W-I and IR-I). Taxiway "BRAVO" crosses runway 22 approximately 1,500 upwind of the displaced threshold for the runway and is the first available taxiway exit to the midfield ramp area (refer to DIAGRAM A-I). The 1354 aviation weather observation taken at the Essex County Airport reported winds as variable at six knots. In a telephone conversation, a maintenance representative from a local fixed base operator (FBO) at the Essex County Airport reported recalling that several of his employees freely rolled the aircraft on its main wheels off the runway to the FBO's ramp. The aircraft was transported via flatbed truck from the Essex County Airport to Sky Acres airport, Lagrangeville, New York, for repairs. The facility effecting repairs was contacted and reported in a telephone conversation that the post accident repairs included "servicing of the brakes" but that no other corrective repair work had been done on the aircraft's Cleveland brakes. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2619K](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2619K), registered now, S/N 5346 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Luscombe LL-8-C - Registry model: [Luscombe 8E](https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8e) (registry code 8190112) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C85 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (registry code 17008, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 5346 - Airframe hours: 3067 - Engines: Continental C-85-12 85 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Sullivan, Robert, E. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: CDW, NJ - Airport: CDW, Essex County, runway 22, 4,553 × 80 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 355 total, 103 in this make and model, 300 as pilot in command, 17 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 0° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 28 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: TEB, 10 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19981105047249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981105047249A), Nov 5, 1998: Luscom 8E, Caldwell, NJ, No damage. (-23) Aircraft landed and went off the runway, in the process, tailwheel assembly broke incurring substantial damage. ## Other investigations on N2619K (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB GAA18CA568](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA568), Sep 15, 2018: Luscombe 8 (N2619K), Millbrook, NY, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the other pilot to yield to traffic established on the taxiway, which resulted in a ground collision. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.