# NTSB SEA97LA207: Curtiss-Wright Travel AIR 12-Q, N496W, Pendleton, OR, September 7, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 7, 1997, 10:45 local (17:45 UTC) - Place: Pendleton, OR - Coordinates: 45.730777, -118.789962 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.7308&lon=-118.7900&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 4, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 42688 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA97LA207 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/42688/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA207 ## Probable cause the tail wheel assembly spring disconnected. ## 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 - landing gear,tailwheel assembly - disconnected (cause) - directional control - not possible, pilot in command ## Analysis The pilot stated that during the landing roll, the aircraft started to swerve to the left. Right rudder input did not seem to make any difference and the aircraft ground-looped to the left. Shortly after the accident, the pilot and a mechanic found that one of the springs that ran from the rudder to the tail wheel mechanism had become disconnected. ## Factual narrative On September 7, 1997 approximately 1045 Pacific daylight time, a Curtis-Wright Travel Air 12-Q, N496W, ground-looped during the landing roll at Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, Pendleton, Oregon. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Baker, Oregon about one hour earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, he performed a wheel landing, during which everything appeared normal, and then lowered the tail wheel to the runway. As soon as the tail wheel touched down, the aircraft started to swerve to the left, and the pilot's input of right rudder did not seem to make any difference. Although the pilot applied almost full right rudder, the aircraft ground-looped to the left, and one of the wings impacted the ground. Immediately after the accident, the pilot and a mechanic inspected the aircraft, and discovered that one of the springs that ran from the rudder to the tail wheel mechanism had become disconnected. It was the pilot's opinion that the spring had come loose while he was taking off from a rough turf runway at his last point of departure. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N496W](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N496W), registered now, S/N 2023, built 1931 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 12-Q (TRAVEL AIR) - Registry model: [Curtiss Wright TRAVEL AIR 12-Q](https://openairdocs.org/model/curtiss-wright-travel-air-12-q) (registry code 2621302) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2023 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-A2B 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Jeffrey L. Caplitz - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 14, 1996, 70 hours before - Departed: BAKER, OR - Airport: PDT, Eastern Oregon Regional, runway 29, 5,588 × 140 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 42; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: rear; flight hours: 4,000 total, 300 in this make and model, 3,900 as pilot in command, 40 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F ## 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 19970907039099A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970907039099A), Sep 7, 1997: Curtis TRVAIR12Q, Pendleton, OR, Substantial damage. Wheel landing. Ground looped when tail came down. Tail wheel spring became disconnected. ## Other investigations on N496W (1) 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. - [NTSB DFW08CA200](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW08CA200), Jul 27, 2008: Curtiss-Wright 12Q (N496W), Erie, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: Failure of the tail wheel control cable during landing roll out, which resulted in a loss of control. 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.