- Date
- August 12, 2021, 14:43 local (21:43 UTC)
- Place
- Puyallup, WA · Airport Environment
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N392WNorth American T-28B
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FSDO
- Case key
- 103700
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
A nose wheel shimmy during the landing roll for reasons that could not be determined from the available evidence, which led to a loss of directional control.
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, after touchdown the nose wheel started to shimmy, and he was not able to steer the airplane. The airplane veered to the left side of the runway as the pilot continued to try and steer away from the edge of the runway using the right brake. When the left main landing gear wheel went off the edge of the runway, he initiated the emergency procedures to retract the landing gear, shut down the engine and open the canopy. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the nose wheel steering components and the hydraulic shimmy damper appeared to remain intact and attached to their respective mounts. The shimmy damper piston rod was actuated by hand and found to compress and extend normally. No hydraulic fluid leaks were observed on the damper. No evidence of a pre-accident mechanical failure or malfunction was revealed that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the nose wheel shimmy could not be determined from available evidence.
Factual narrative
On August 12, 2021, about 1443 Pacific daylight time, a North American T-28B airplane, N392W, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Puyallup, Washington. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that, after touchdown on runway 35 at Pierce County-Thun Field (PLU), the nose wheel started to shimmy, and he was not able to steer the airplane. The airplane veered to the left side of the runway as the pilot continued to try and steer away from the edge of the runway using the right brake. When the left main landing gear wheel went off the edge of the runway, he initiated the emergency procedures to retract the landing gear, shut down the engine and open the canopy. After the airplane came to a stop, a fire ignited the grass under the engine nacelle which was extinguished by emergency responders. The wings were substantially damaged. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the nose wheel steering components and the hydraulic shimmy damper appeared to remain intact and attached to their respective mounts. The shimmy damper piston rod was actuated by hand and found to compress and extend normally. No hydraulic fluid leaks were observed on the damper. No evidence of a pre-accident mechanical failure or malfunction was revealed that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N392W
- Reported as
- North American T-28B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 138314
- Built
- 1955
- Airframe hours
- 8,683
- Engine
- Curtis Wright R-1820-86, 1,425 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Buno 138314 LLC
- Registered owner
- Buno 138314 LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · September 21, 2020 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- TKE · Truckee, CA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PLU · Pierce County - Thun Field, runway 35, 3,651 × 60 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 73
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 19, 2020
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,700 total · 560 in this make and model · 1,500 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Observed at
- PLU
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 11, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 18.5 MB in all.