LAX01LA046

The airplane landed with a quartering tailwind and ground looped. The active runway was runway 8, and reported winds were from the southwest at 4 knots. The pilot stated that as the airplane began a turn to the right he added full left rudder and brake. The airplane continued in a right turn, and the left main landing gear broke. The airplane was examined and no evidence of mechanical failure was observed on the landing gear or the brake system.

On November 29, 2000, at 1100 hours Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 305A, N65071, ground looped on the landing rollout out from runway 8 at the Dillingham Airfield Airport, Mokuleia, Hawaii. The airplane, operated by Honolulu Soaring Club, Inc., under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a glider towing operation, sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the positioning flight. No flight plan had been filed.

The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at Dillingham Airfield reported winds at the time of the accident to be from 200 degrees at 4 knots. The operator reported winds from 300 degrees at 3 knots. The pilot reported that the winds were from 280 degrees at 3 knots.

In the pilot's written statement to the Safety Board, he stated that he made a normal landing. Approximately 50 mph, he lowered the tail wheel while maintaining runway heading. On the rollout the airplane made a "moderate" right turn, and the airplane was now heading about 120 degrees. He stated that he applied full left rudder and brake. The airplane stabilized on that heading until his airspeed read about 15 mph. The pilot reported that as the airplane was beginning to ground loop the left main gear broke at the attachment point.

In an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot stated that he was returning to the airport after towing a glider aloft and landed with a 5-knot right quartering tailwind. On the landing rollout he felt the airplane begin to nose to the right and applied full left rudder; however, he could not stop the turn to the right. The airplane veered off to the right and ground looped. He further stated that there were no mechanical discrepancies noted with the airplane.

The FAA inspector, who conducted the on-scene inspection, reported that no preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the landing gear or brakes. He indicated that the pilot might have unknowingly activated the right brake during the accident sequence, which resulted in the skid mark on the runway. The inspector stated that corrosion was not evident, and that the fracture surfaces of the landing gear contained sharp edges and "shear lips." The inspector reported that as the airplane passed through 90 degrees of turn, the rate of turn increased, skipped sideways, and the left main gear failed. The propeller blades contacted the pavement and the airplane fell on it's left side. The inspector also stated that when they arrived on-scene the winds were from the northwest about 5 knots.