- Date
- April 7, 2012, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Westport, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1183KLuscombe 8E
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20120407004699A
- Case key
- 83321
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 inadequate crosswind compensation, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the landing roll.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, because of the left 10- to 15-knot quartering headwind, on short final approach, he descended at an airspeed about 5 knots faster than normal. The airplane bounced upon touching down on the runway and began drifting toward the runway’s edge. Despite the pilot’s efforts to stop the drift, the airplane exited the side of the runway, rolled onto an adjacent grassy area and into a 1-foot-deep trough, and nosed over. The windshield broke, and the engine mounts, vertical stabilizer, and rudder were bent. The pilot reported that no mechanical malfunction or failure occurred with the airplane during the accident flight.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that because of the left 10- to 15-knot quartering headwind, on short final approach he descended using airspeed about 5 knots faster than normal. The airplane bounced upon touching down on the runway, and then it began drifting toward the runway’s edge. Despite the pilot’s efforts at stopping the drift, the airplane veered off the side of the runway and rolled onto an adjacent grassy area. As the airplane decelerated in the grass, the airplane rolled into a 1-foot-deep trough and nosed over. This event resulted in breaking the windshield, bending the engine mounts, vertical stabilizer and rudder, and other airframe damage. The pilot further reported that no mechanical malfunction or failure occurred with the airplane during the accident flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1183K
- Reported as
- Luscombe 8E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3910
- Airframe hours
- 3,230
- Engine
- Cont Motor C85 SERIES, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 25, 2011 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- PLU · Puyallup, WA
- Destination
- 14S · Westport, WA
- Airport
- 14S · Westport, runway 12, 2,318 × 50 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
- 59
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 21, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 405 total · 230 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.