On May 13, 1996, a Cessna 140 (registration N89207) was involved in an aviation accident near Brooklyn, MI. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain control during the landing rollout on a sod runway, which resulted in a hard landing, bounce, and subsequent nose-over. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A light aircraft experienced a hard landing and bounce on a sod runway. The pilot's recovery attempt resulted in a tail-first impact, causing the airplane to nose over on the soft surface.
What happened
The pilot was conducting an approach for landing on a sod runway. Upon touchdown, the aircraft encountered a hard landing condition which caused the airplane to bounce. In an effort to recover from this bounce and complete the landing, the pilot attempted a three-wheeled landing technique. However, the tail wheel contacted the ground before the main landing gear. Following this sequence of events, the pilot applied the brakes. Due to the soft nature of the sod surface, the airplane nosed over.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanics of the landing and the subsequent loss of control. Examination revealed that the primary issue stemmed from the interaction between the aircraft's landing gear configuration and the runway surface conditions. The tail wheel impact preceded the main gear contact, destabilizing the aircraft's attitude during the critical phase of braking.
Findings
Several factors contributed to this incident. The initial hard landing created a bounce that required immediate pilot correction. The decision to execute a three-wheeled landing on a sod surface proved ineffective. The soft runway surface lacked the necessary friction for effective braking after the tail wheel impact, leading directly to the nose-over event.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control during the landing rollout on a sod runway, which resulted in a hard landing, bounce, and subsequent nose-over.