- Date
- August 28, 2024, 15:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Shearer, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N924LBRonald J Mclaughlin Bearhawk Patrol
- 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
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20240828011659A
- Case key
- 195048
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 of the tailwheel-equipped airplane was attempting to land at an airstrip within a canyon. The pilot overflew the runway twice; he first observed a right crosswind followed by a “limp” windsock during his second pass. The pilot then maneuvered through the canyon to land, encountering turbulence as he approached the runway. During the landing rollout, the airplane drifted to the left side of the runway despite the pilot’s rudder input. The right main landing gear hit a depression in the ground, the airplane then ground looped, and its left wingtip impacted terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its left wing. After the pilot exited the airplane, he noted there to be a “strong, direct tailwind” present. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N924LB
- Reported as
- Ronald J Mclaughlin Bearhawk Patrol
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- RJM-4
- Built
- 2016
- Airframe hours
- 150
- Engine
- Titan IOX-360, 189 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 20, 2024
- Departed
- SMN · Salmon, ID
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 2U5 · Shearer USFS Airport, runway 18, 2,000 × 15 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, 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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 16, 2024
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 2,500 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 13 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.16 inHg
- Turbulence
- Moderate
- Observed at
- KHRF, 34 nm away
- METAR
- KHRF 282115Z AUTO 32013G20KT 10SM FEW070 17/01 A3016 RMK AO2
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 6, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.7 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.