# NTSB WPR12LA290: Burleigh Bearhawk, N117Z, Heber City, UT, June 24, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 24, 2012, 10:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Heber City, UT - Coordinates: 40.481666, -111.428611 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.4817&lon=-111.4286&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 5, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 84170 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR12LA290 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/84170/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84170 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12LA290 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that shortly after touchdown and during the landing roll, the airplane ground looped to the left. A postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative On June 24, 2012, about 1030 mountain daylight time, a Burleigh Bearhawk amateur built airplane, N117Z, ground looped during the landing roll at the Heber City Municipal Airport, Heber City, Utah. The pilot, who additionally owned the airplane, was operating it under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The airline transport pilot and two passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The local personal flight departed from Heber City about 1000. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot stated that after a 30-minute local flight he returned back to the airport to land. Shortly after touchdown and during the landing roll, the airplane ground looped to the left. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar. The pilot further stated that he believed that he lost controllability due to a tailwheel malfunction. He noted that he had experienced prior problems with the tailwheel shimmying. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector performed an examination of the wreckage and found no evidence of mechanical malfunction or failure with the landing gear system. He noted that if there was some shimmy or it had spun around, it would still be possible to control the airplane. A routine aviation weather report (METAR) for Provo Municipal Airport, Provo, Utah, about 20 miles from the accident on a bearing of about 220 degrees, reported that the wind was from 100 degrees at 4 knots about 20 minutes after the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: N117Z (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: BURLEIGH BEARHAWK - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 087-1039 - Airframe hours: 212 - Engines: LYCOMING O-540-A4D5 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Edwin Thiel - Registered owner: M & E Adventures LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, April 2, 2012, 21 hours before - Departed: 36U, Heber, UT - Destination: 36U, Heber, UT - Airport: 36U, Heber City Municipal Airport, runway 04, 6,899 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 27, 2012; seat: right; flight hours: 15,816 total, 64 in this make and model, 8,166 as pilot in command, 96 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 100° at 4 knots - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 30.03 inHg - Observed at: PVU, 21 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20120624011509A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120624011509A), Jun 24, 2012: Burleigh Ron BEARHAWK, Heber, UT, Substantial damage. To be amended after maintenance review of aircraft. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 10, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84170. 1.0 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 917 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40396052&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Record of Conversation: Federal Aviation Administration Inspector (item 2, .PDF, 83 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40396053&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%3A%20Federal%20Aviation%20Administration%20Inspector-Master.PDF 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.