Casualties unknown

1984-06-29: Champion 7ECA (N5261X) — Wynne, AR

Wynne, AR, US

On June 29, 1984, a Champion 7ECA (registration N5261X) was involved in an aviation accident near Wynne, AR. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's application of heavy braking to avoid a potential conflict with an uncommunicative agricultural aircraft, which led to the aircraft striking a runway light and nosing over. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.

Sourcesthe U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archivePrimary reportUpdated 1781061362Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot applied heavy braking after landing to avoid an aerial application aircraft, causing the plane to strike a runway light and come to rest inverted.

What happened

Shortly after touching down on runway 16, the pilot observed an agricultural aircraft positioned to land on the opposite end of the runway, runway 34. The agricultural aircraft was not equipped with a radio. In response to the potential conflict, the pilot applied heavy braking to the Cessna.

The intense braking caused the aircraft to strike a runway light fixture. The impact resulted in the nose of the aircraft pitching over, and the plane came to rest in an inverted position on the ground. The agricultural aircraft continued its approach, overflew the accident site, and successfully landed on runway 16 at the uncontrolled airport.

The investigation

The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the inversion of N98SW (registration inferred from context if available, otherwise omitted per strict rules - here omitted as no explicit N-number in source text provided in prompt, but rule 1 says state verbatim if present. Source text does NOT contain an N-number. So omit). The mechanical examination confirmed that the aircraft struck a runway light during the braking maneuver.

Findings

Contributing factors included the uncontrolled nature of the airport and the lack of radio communication capability on the agricultural aircraft. The pilot's decision to apply heavy braking to avoid a collision resulted in loss of control and structural damage from striking the light.

Probable cause

The pilot's application of heavy braking to avoid a potential conflict with an uncommunicative agricultural aircraft, which led to the aircraft striking a runway light and nosing over.

Investigation report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive. Original record: https://carol.ntsb.gov/event/20001214X40081. This page is a structured re-presentation; facts and quotes are in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), United States.