Pilot Debrief

STINSON 108-3 near Lebanon, OR — 2010-03-25

Final reportWPR10CA179
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Date
2010-03-25
Location
Lebanon, OR, USA
Airport
S30
Aircraft
STINSON 108-3
Registration
N6063M
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to release his brake application after adding power to regain directional control during the landing roll.

NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane completed a number of touch-and-go landings, and then made a full-stop landing so that he could taxi to the parking area to talk with some friends. When he took off again a few minutes later to do one final landing before putting the airplane away, he discovered that the wind speed had picked up and that he would be landing in a gusting crosswind. During the landing roll, which was along the leeward side of a row of hangars with occasional spaces between them, the airplane started turning toward the left side of the runway (into the wind). When the pilot found that full right brake and full right rudder was not enough to bring the airplane back to the right, he added a significant amount of engine power in an attempt to regain control. Although the airplane's ground track began to straighten after he added power, the pilot kept the right-wheel brake fully applied, resulting in the airplane attaining a nose-down attitude, whereupon the propeller began hitting the runway surface. With the propeller hitting the runway surface, the pilot found it necessary to reduce power, and therefore the airplane turned further left, and its left main wheel departed the left edge of the runway onto soft terrain. The left wheel then sank into the terrain, and with the right brake still fully applied, the airplane nosed over onto its back. The accident sequence resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, left wing, and left wing lift strut.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to abort the landing earlier due to gusting crosswind.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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