- Date
- March 1, 2026, 19:20 local (Mar 2, 2026, 02:20 UTC)
- Place
- Carefree, AZ · Skyranch Airport
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N636DBAmerican Champion 8GCBC
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO - Scottsdale AZ
- FAA report
- 20260301003989A
- Case key
- 202583
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Findings · 4
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 he landed the tailwheel equipped airplane at a backcountry airstrip, and while taxiing on rough terrain, the tailwheel spring failed and the tailwheel assembly separated from the airplane. The pilot shut down the airplane and exited to inspect and retrieve the tailwheel assembly. He then decided to depart, using engine power to lift the tail off the ground for the take-off roll, and return to his home airport where he planned to land and hold the airplane’s tail off the ground as long as possible. The pilot completed a successful wheel landing, but as the airplane slowed during the landing roll it tipped forward and nosed over, coming to rest inverted on the dirt runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage frame, wings, vertical stabilizer, ailerons, elevators, rudder, and wing lift struts. The pilot reported that he may have inadvertently applied more main-wheel braking pressure than necessary while trying to keep the tail off the ground, which resulted in the airplane nosing over. Other than the previously damaged tailwheel assembly, the pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N636DB
- Reported as
- American Champion 8GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 636-2023
- Built
- 2023
- Airframe hours
- 150
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-390A, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Vectored Solutions Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 22, 2026 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- Payson, AZ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 18AZ · SkyRanch, runway 24, 2,000 × 60 ft, dirt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, 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
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Waiver time limited special
- Last flight review
- August 24, 2025
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,520 total · 300 in this make and model · 3,250 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- KDVT, 11 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KDVT 020153Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 28/02 A2989 RMK AO2 SLP103 T02780017
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 30, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 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.