Pilot Debrief

BROWN JAMES W ZENITH STOL CH 750 near Charlotte, VT — 2015-08-07

Final reportERA15LA381
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Date
2015-08-07
Location
Charlotte, VT, USA
Airport
NONE
Aircraft
BROWN JAMES W ZENITH STOL CH 750
Registration
N330B
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate compensation for a crosswind during landing, which resulted in a side load application to the nose landing gear and its subsequent collapse.

NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane stated that, during landing on the turf runway with an 8-knot crosswind, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. Examination of the nose landing gear fork and doubler revealed that the materials and construction met manufacturer's specifications. Additionally, the assembly exhibited kinematic deformation, indicative of side loading. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot failed to adequately compensate for the crosswind conditions during landing, which resulted in the side loading of the nose landing gear and its subsequent collapse.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have adjusted approach speed to prevent nose landing gear collapse.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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