- Date
- September 25, 2000, 17:00 local (Sep 26, 2000, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ione, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N37820Culver LFA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 6, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20000925013919A
- Case key
- 50327
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 failure of the right brake during the landing roll resulting in loss of directional control and subsequent nose over of the airplane.
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
After landing on a private dirt/gravel airstrip the airplane veered off the right side of the ruway. The airplane collided with a fence and nosed over inverted. The pilot reported the airplane's inability to be straightened with the use of left rudder, brake, and tail wheel steering. Post accident examination of the brakes revealed a broken rotor disk on the right main landing gear.
Factual narrative
On September 25, 2000, at 1700 hours Pacific daylight time, a Culver LFA, N37820, ran off the runway, and nosed over while landing on a private airstrip near Ione, California. The airplane was destroyed, and the certificated airline transport pilot received serious injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The local flight originated from the private airstrip earlier that afternoon. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed.
A witness reported that the pilot was landing to the east on the east-west dirt strip when the airplane began veering to the right. After rolling about 300 feet down the strip, the airplane ran off the right side of the runway, struck a fence collapsing the main gear, and nosed over.
The witness also reported that after looking at the airplane's track in the dirt, it appeared that the right main was more pronounced. He said that the right main tire also showed evidence of abrasion on its tread surface. He checked the brakes in the airplane and found that the right brake was "definitely" dragging. He reported that the airplane was equipped with Cleveland brakes in accordance with the applicable supplemental type certificate (STC).
Post crash examination revealed a broken rotor disk on the right main landing gear.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37820
- Reported as
- Culver LFA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 354
- Airframe hours
- 1,004
- Engine
- Franklin 4 AC-199 E3, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ormond Lee Howard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 20, 2000 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Howard Airport, CA
- Destination
- CA
- Airport
- PVT · Howard Private Airport, runway 067, 1,500 × 50 ft, dirt
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
- 77
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- April 24, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 22,277 total · 230 in this make and model · 15,500 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- SMF
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.