- Date
- July 27, 2000, 20:00 local (Jul 28, 2000, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Helena, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1415BRoot Sherpa
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000727005099A
- Case key
- 49835
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 while landing.
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 private pilot was landing the tail wheel equipped aircraft on a dry paved runway. Shortly after touchdown, the aircraft began to drift left of runway centerline. The pilot applied brakes and corrective actions, however, the aircraft ground looped. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On July 27, 2000, about 2000 mountain daylight time, a Root Sherpa, N1415B, registered to the builder, and flown by a private pilot as a 14CFR91 personal/pleasure flight, sustained substantial damage during the landing roll at Helena Regional Airport, Helena, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight. The private pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured. There was no fire and no report of ELT activation. The flight originated from Scappoose Industrial Airport, Scappoose, Oregon, approximately 1630 Pacific daylight time.
The pilot stated that he was landing the tail wheel equipped aircraft on a dry paved runway. Shortly after touchdown, the aircraft began to drift left of runway centerline. The pilot applied brakes and corrective actions, but the aircraft ground looped. The aircraft's right main landing gear and right wing sustained substantial damage.
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1415B
- Reported as
- Root Sherpa
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0012
- Airframe hours
- 1,450
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-720, 399 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Byron L. Root
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 10, 2000 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- SPB · Scappoose, OR
- Destination
- HLN
- Airport
- HLN · Helena Regional Airport, runway 27, 11,000 × 200 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 648 total · 53 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 4° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HLN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N1415B · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.