# NTSB LAX96LA295: Luscombe 8F, N1616Z, Douglas, AZ, August 3, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 3, 1996, 12:05 local (19:05 UTC) - Place: Douglas, AZ - Coordinates: 31.54054, -109.459327 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.5405&lon=-109.4593&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 16, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 29527 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX96LA295 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/29527/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96LA295 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the pilot's inexperience in the type aircraft. ## 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 - weather condition - crosswind - brakes(normal) - improper use of, pilot in command - diverted attention, pilot in command - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - lack of total experience in type of aircraft, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The pilot stated that he was making a full-stop landing with a reasonable quartering right crosswind of about 15 knots. During the landing roll, when he had slowed to about 30 knots, an unusual noise caused him to glance into the cockpit. When he looked up, the aircraft was veering to the left and he input right rudder and brake. The control input, together with the crosswind, resulted in over-correction and the aircraft ground looped to the right. The pilot had made about 13 landings in this aircraft type prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On August 3, 1996 at 1205 hours mountain standard time, a Luscombe 8F, N1616Z, was substantially damaged during a ground loop while landing at Bisbee Douglas International Airport, Douglas, Arizona. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight which departed from Bisbee Municipal Airport, Bisbee, Arizona, at 1115. The pilot told the NTSB investigator that he was planning to buy the aircraft and had made about 12 landings in it prior to the accident flight. At the time of the accident he was making his second full-stop landing of the flight on runway 17. There was a "reasonable" crosswind from the southwest about 15 knots. During the landing roll, when he had slowed to about 30 knots, he heard an unusual noise and glanced down to the engine instruments. When he looked up, the aircraft was veering to the left, so he input right rudder and brake. The pilot thinks that a gust of crosswind, together with his control input, caused him to over-correct to the right and the aircraft ground looped, collapsing the left main landing gear. He commented that he found the aircraft's heel brakes difficult to operate. The aircraft came to rest on the 150-foot-wide runway, about 2,000 feet from the threshold end, headed north. A special weather observation taken at Bisbee Douglas at 1142 reported the wind was from 280 degrees at 10 knots, and a broken layer of towering cumulus clouds with bases at 4,000 feet. The remarks to the report included "towering cumulus overhead." The pilot told the NTSB investigator that in the minutes after the accident there was a rain shower and gusty wind. ## Aircraft - Registration: N1616Z (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Luscombe 8F - Category: Airplane - Serial number: S-72 - Airframe hours: 1443 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-A2B 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: John A. Sylvester - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 28, 1995, 60 hours before - Departed: P04, BISBEE, AZ - Destination: DUG - Airport: DUG, Bisbee Douglas Int'L, runway 17, 7,292 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 1,673 total, 9 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days, 16 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 280° at 10 knots - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,000 ft broken - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: DUG ## 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 19960803020679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960803020679A), Aug 3, 1996: Luscom 8F, Douglas Bisbee, AZ, Substantial damage. Gusty croswind landing. Over corrected for a strong gust. Ground looped. Collapsed left main gear. 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.