- Date
- April 26, 1995, 19:12 local (23:12 UTC)
- Place
- Naples, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N711BTPitts S-2B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 23, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950426012859A
- Case key
- 37766
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 tail wheel landing gear system for undetermined reasons. This resulted in an on-ground loss of control on landing rollout, ground loop, and collapse of the right main landing gear.
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 to the left on landing rollout. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a full stop. Examination of the airplane revealed the right hand spring on the tail wheel to be hanging free, the attachment clip was missing, and was not located. There was no evidence of distortion on the chain attached to the tail wheel spring.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 1995, about 1912 eastern daylight time, a Pitts S-2B, N711BT, registered to Everglades Aerobatic, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, ground looped on landing at Naples Municipal Airport and crashed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The certified flight instructor/commercial pilot, and the rated student pilot (airline transport pilot) were not injured. The flight originated from Naples, Florida, about 50 minutes before the accident. the accident was initially reported to the NTSB as an incident, and was up-graded to an accident on May 10, 1995.
The flight instructor stated he thought the rated student pilot allowed the airplane to roll too much to the right before exiting the runway. The student pilot applied left rudder, however, he thought the student pilot applied too much left rudder, and he applied right rudder. The airplane continued to the left 180 degrees. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a full stop.
Examination of the airplane by the Director of Maintenance for Sun Aircraft Services USA, Inc., revealed the right spring on the tail wheel to be hanging free, the attachment clip was missing, and was not located.
The flight instructor stated while taxiing to his hangar on a previous flight on April 12, 1995, the tail wheel steering did not feel right. Subsequent examination of the tail wheel assembly revealed the right spring was loose and the attachment clip had vibrated off. The airplane was taken to Naples Air Center, Inc., for repair. The tail wheel spring and attachment clips were worn and required replacement.
Mr. Alfred A. Bennett, Naples Air Center, Inc., stated in a letter dated May 22, 1995, that it would be virtually impossible for a new attachment clip to vibrate loose from its installation and fall off during normal operation because of the tension required to open the clip. Possibly during a ground loop the stress in the opposing direction and the severe side load encountered may be enough to open or break the clip.
Examination of photographs submitted with the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report of the tail wheel assembly revealed no evidence of distortion on the chain attached to the tail wheel spring.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N711BT
- Reported as
- Pitts S-2B
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 5063
- Airframe hours
- 1,162
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-D4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Everglades Aerobatic
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 19, 1994 · 70 hours before
- Airport
- APF · Naples Municipal Airport, runway 4, 5,000 × 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 1,170 in this make and model · 2,450 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APF, 1 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.