- Date
- April 27, 2006, 19:30 local (Apr 28, 2006, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Reno, NV
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N778TM.C. Thomas Thorpe T-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20060427006199A
- Case key
- 63605
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. A contributing factor was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.
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 airplane veered off the runway during landing and nosed over after encountering soft sand. The pilot had recently purchased the airplane, and this was his third instructional flight. The main purpose of this flight was to work on directional control of the airplane. The pilot and his flight instructor departed on runway 08, with a crosswind from 160 degrees at 3 to 4 miles per hour (mph), for work in the traffic pattern. During the second landing, the pilot landed to the left of the centerline. As the tail wheel settled onto the runway, the airplane veered to the left. He increased the throttle, and applied right rudder. The airplane did not seem to respond, so he applied the brakes. It veered hard to the left and went off the runway into soft sand and sagebrush and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On April 27, 2006, about 1930 Pacific daylight time, a M. C. Thomas Thorpe T-18, N778T, veered off the runway and nosed over during landing at Stead Airport, Reno, Nevada. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The certified flight instructor (CFI) pilot and the private pilot undergoing instruction (PUI) sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The local instructional flight departed Stead Airport about 1830. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot submitted a written report. He had recently purchased the airplane, and this was his third instructional flight. The main purpose of this flight was to work on directional control of the airplane during landings. They departed on runway 08, with a crosswind from 160 degrees at 3 to 4 miles per hour (mph), for work in the traffic pattern.
During the second landing, the pilot landed to the left of the centerline. As the tail wheel settled onto the runway, the airplane veered to the left. He increased the throttle, and applied right rudder. The airplane did not seem to respond, so he applied the brakes. It veered hard to the left and went off the runway into soft sand and sagebrush. The airplane caught in the soft sand, and nosed over. The pilot broke out a portion of the windscreen, and he and the CFI crawled out. Emergency assistance and local volunteers arrived on scene. The pilot drove himself to the hospital, and received treatment for lacerations and a separated shoulder.
The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N778T
- Reported as
- M.C. Thomas Thorpe T-18
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1124
- Engine
- Lycoming O-380-A1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Scott E. Monsen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 4SD · Reno
- Airport
- 4SD · Reno-Stead, runway 8, 7,608 × 150 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
- 67
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 10,600 total · 3 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 463 total · 3 in this make and model · 46 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- RNO, 12 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.