- Date
- March 30, 2014, 10:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Wheatland, WY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1952PPiper PA 18A
- Defining event
- Landing: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 5, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20140330003299A
- Case key
- 88984
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 front seat pilot's excessive approach speed and subsequent brake application during the landing which resulted in a nose-over. Contributing to the accident was the instructor's failure to maintain situational awareness.
Findings · 4
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 flight instructor/owner and pilot rated passenger departed the local airport in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, to inspect ranch property and livestock. The flight instructor was in the rear seat of the tandem cockpit airplane. The pilots planned to land in a pasture to check on livestock, and the pilot in the front seat was on the controls. They agreed on a suitable landing area, and during the approach the instructor's forward visibility was limited, and he failed to see that they were carrying excess airspeed and had progressed too far down the airstrip for a normal landing. The front-seat pilot, seeing the end of the airstrip approaching rapidly, applied the brakes sharply. The instructor directed the pilot to "relax" and allow the tail to settle. The brakes abruptly grabbed a second time and the tail came up sharply, causing the propeller to strike the ground. The airplane slid on its nose, veered left, and flipped onto its back. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor/owner and pilot rated passenger departed the local airport in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, to inspect ranch property and livestock. The flight instructor was in the rear seat of the tandem cockpit airplane. The pilots planned to land in a pasture to check on livestock, and the pilot in the front seat was on the controls. They agreed on a suitable landing area, and during the approach the instructor's forward visibility was limited, and he failed to see that they were carrying excess airspeed and had progressed too far down the airstrip for a normal landing. The front-seat pilot, seeing the end of the airstrip approaching rapidly, applied the brakes sharply. The instructor directed the pilot to "relax" and allow the tail to settle. The brakes abruptly grabbed a second time and the tail came up sharply, causing the propeller to strike the ground. The airplane slid on its nose, veered left, and flipped onto its back. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1952P
- Reported as
- Piper PA 18A (105SPECIAL)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-4178
- Built
- 1955
- Airframe hours
- 2,022
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 14, 2014
- Departed
- KEAN · Wheatland, WY
- Destination
- KEAN · Wheatland, WY
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport, Military
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 15, 2014
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 14,225 total · 500 in this make and model · 11,612 as pilot in command · 83 in the last 90 days · 42 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Commercial, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 15, 2013
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,855 total · 8 in this make and model · 2,520 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.60 inHg
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 21, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.