Pilot Debrief

TAYLORCRAFT BC-12D near Inverness, FL — 2015-05-12

Final reportERA15LA214
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Date
2015-05-12
Location
Inverness, FL, USA
Airport
INF
Aircraft
TAYLORCRAFT BC-12D
Registration
N43715
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

A disconnection of the tailwheel steering mechanism during landing, which resulted in the pilot’s loss of directional control.

NTSB narrative

After an uneventful preflight inspection and flight around the local area, the private pilot returned to the departure airport to practice touch-and-go landings in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. The first two practice landings were uneventful; during the third landing roll, the pilot felt a vibration originating from the tailwheel that rapidly increased in intensity before the airplane suddenly veered to the left. The pilot attempted to compensate by applying full rudder control to the right, but the airplane continued to the left, departed the runway, struck a taxiway sign, and pitched nose down, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane's tailwheel revealed that the steering mechanism components connecting the tailwheel to the rudder had disconnected. Although a spring was recovered from the runway after the accident, the remaining hardware components were not recovered. Given this information, it is likely that the tailwheel steering mechanism became disconnected at some point during the landing and ultimately resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain directional control of the airplane. Because some of the steering mechanism components were not recovered, the reason for the disconnection could not be determined.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have inspected tailwheel linkage before flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents3

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