- Date
- April 17, 2008, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Grass Valley, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3VKMurphy Murphy Rebel
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080417838109A
- Case key
- 67853
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.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was attempting to land the tailwheel equipped airplane on an upsloping runway. The airplane touched down normally on the asphalt runway surface. During the landing roll the airplane began to ground loop. The pilot added power in an effort to recover and the airplane continued off the runway surface and encountered a ditch, incurring damage to the left fuselage structure. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. He added that the wind conditions were light and variable.
Factual narrative
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was attempting to land the tail wheel equipped airplane on an upsloping runway. The airplane touched down normally on the asphalt runway surface. During the landing roll the airplane began to ground loop. The pilot added power in an effort to recover and the airplane continued off the runway surface. The airplane encountered a ditch and incurred damage to the left fuselage structure.
The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. He added that the wind conditions were light and variable. In the section titled RECOMMENDATION (How could this accident have been prevented) of the pilot's written report (NTSB Pilot/Operator Report, Form 6120.1), the pilot stated that he should have first practiced landings at the departure airport, as it had been awhile since he had flown. He noted in the same section that most of his flight time was conducted with landings on grass strips, where the airplane maneuvers differently than the asphalt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3VK
- Reported as
- Murphy Murphy Rebel
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- O27 · Oakdale, CA
- Destination
- GOO · Grass Valley, CA
- Airport
- GOO · Nevada County Air Park, runway 07, 4,350 × 75 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 326 total · 50 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.