- Date
- February 27, 2021, 15:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Eatonville, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N347JPPiggott John H Bearhawk
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20210227003179A
- Case key
- 102701
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 failure to maintain directional control during landing, which resulted in a ground loop.
Findings · 3
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 during the landing in a tailwheel equipped airplane, it appeared to him that the wind was calm during the approach. Soon after landing, he reported hitting a bump in the runway along with a wind shear resulting in a loss of directional control. Despite the pilot’s control inputs, the airplane exited the runway to the right and ground looped in the runway safety area, coming to rest upright. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the left-wing tip and left aileron were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N347JP
- Reported as
- Piggott John H Bearhawk
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 347
- Built
- 2003
- Airframe hours
- 138
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-540 SERIES, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 17, 2020 · 112 hours before
- Departed
- 49WA · Yelm, WA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 2W3 · Swanson, runway 16/34, 2,990 × 36 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 14, 2019
- Flight hours
- 19,566 total · 96 in this make and model · 12,285 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 15 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 45 °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 N347JP · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.