- Date
- March 12, 2023, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sandy Valley, NV · off airport - packed gravel/sand
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N127MFFiedler Mark R PA-18 Replica
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- 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
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20230312002189A
- Case key
- 106947
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 airplane control during an off airport precautionary landing on soft soil, which resulted in a nose over.
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 reported that, during cruise flight, he observed an increase of cylinder head temperature along with “abnormal engine operation” and decided to make a precautionary landing, off airport. During the landing roll in the tailwheel equipped airplane, the right main tire “sunk” in the soil and the tail of the airplane began to rise. Despite the pilot’s control inputs, the tail continued to rise, and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted. The vertical stabilizer and rudder were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N127MF
- Reported as
- Fiedler Mark R PA-18 Replica
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JA1906132
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 155
- Engine
- Titan OX-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · February 22, 2023 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- 3L2 · Sandy Valley, NV
- Destination
- KVGT · Las Vegas, NV
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Electronic multifunction 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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 10, 2022
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 23,000 total · 700 in this make and model · 15,000 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 3000.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KHND, 27 nm away
- METAR
- KHND 122056Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 21/01 A3000
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.