- Date
- May 17, 2021, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Porterville, CA · Airport
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N663KStearman 4E
- 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
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20210517006229A
- Case key
- 103101
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 loss of directional control while landing, which resulted in a landing gear collapse.
Findings · 2
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 of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that, after landing the airplane encountered a gust of wind and ballooned. During the subsequent touch down, the airplane landed “in a very minor crab,” the right main landing gear collapsed, and the lower right wing was substantially damaged when it impacted the runway surface. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N663K
- Reported as
- Stearman 4E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4005
- Built
- 1930
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-1340 SC-1, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William Ben Scott
- Registered owner
- William Ben Scott
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 31, 2021
- Departed
- KSEE · San Diego, CA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PTV · Porterville Muni, runway 30, 5,960 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 15, 2021
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 28,462 total · 126 in this make and model · 11,500 as pilot in command · 165 in the last 90 days · 61 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KPTV
- METAR
- KPTV 172156Z AUTO 29007KT 260V320 10SM CLR 29/11 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP145 T02890111
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 1, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 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.
Other investigations on N663K · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.