- Date
- May 21, 2023, 08:33 local (15:33 UTC)
- Place
- Mobile, AZ · Dirt strip
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N108AMAviat A-1B
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: 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
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20230521009389A
- Case key
- 192216
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, resulting in a runway excursion and 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 of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that during a wheel landing, the airplane touched down and bounced. He added a “slight bump of power” and decided to turn the landing into a three-point landing. The airplane was higher above the ground than he realized, and it stalled. During the second touchdown, the airplane landed hard, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane bounced a second time, then settled onto the runway and veered off the runway to the left. The airplane crossed a berm and nosed over. The left-wing struts, 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
- N108AM
- Reported as
- Aviat A-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2136
- Built
- 2000
- Airframe hours
- 1,086
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 12, 2022 · 65 hours before
- Departed
- A39 · Maricopa, AZ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 5AZ6 · Motown, runway 24, 2,700 × 65 ft, dirt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Angle of attack indicator, 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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 4, 2022
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 441.9 total · 54 in this make and model · 441.9 as pilot in command · 20.2 in the last 90 days · 7.6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Turbulence
- Light
- Observed at
- KCGZ, 25 nm away
- METAR
- KCGZ 211556Z AUTO 12007KT 10SM CLR 27/09 A2998 RMK AO2 SLP136 T02720089 PNO $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 8, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.9 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.