- Date
- February 23, 2007, 12:05 local (20:05 UTC)
- Place
- Lewiston, ID
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2343MPiper PA-12
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070223002929A
- Case key
- 65341
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 inadvertent use of the rudder by the passenger, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop.
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
According to the pilot, at the aircraft owner's request, he was flying with the passenger to help him become current since the passenger had not flown any type of aircraft in the last 8 years. The pilot was making a no-flap 3-point full stall landing with the passenger following on the controls with him. During the landing roll, as the airplane slowed down, the pilot let some pressure off the rudder pedals to slide his toes up onto the brakes. As soon as the pressure was released from the rudder pedals, the airplane started to swerve "one way then the other." The pilot attempted to correct, but the airplane "spun a 180-degree turn to the left." The left wing tip and the right elevator struck the ground. The pilot reported that the passenger was wearing heavy boots and may have inadvertently "kicked hard right or left rudder and then became briefly entangled in the rudder pedals."
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, at the request of the aircraft's owner, he was flying with the passenger to help him become current as he had not flown any type of aircraft in the last 8 years. He was making a no-flap 3-point full stall landing with the passenger on the controls with him. During the landing roll, as the airplane slowed down, the pilot let some pressure off the rudder pedals to slide his toes up onto the brakes. As soon as the pressure was released from the rudder pedals, the airplane started to swerve "one way then the other." The pilot attempted to correct, but the airplane "spun a 180 degree turn to the left." The left wing tip and the right elevator struck the ground. The pilot reported that the passenger was wearing heavy boots and may have inadvertently "kicked hard right or left rudder and then became briefly entangled in the rudder pedals."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2343M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12-1603
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LWS · Lewiston, ID
- Destination
- LWS
- Airport
- LWS · Lewiston-Nez Perce County, runway 29, 5,002 × 100 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
- 50
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 11,538 total · 1,121 in this make and model · 75 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 41 °F
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 N2343M · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.