On November 2, 2007, an Aeronca 7AC (registration N81800) operated by Robert Schulko was involved in an aviation accident near Fort Worth, TX. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll-out, which resulted in the aircraft departing the runway and nosing over. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A tailwheel-equipped aircraft departed the left side of a turf runway during landing rollout, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. No injuries were reported.
What happened
The private pilot was conducting a full-stop landing on runway 17, which is a turf surface with a width of 60 feet. During the landing roll-out phase, the tower controller observed that the tailwheel-equipped airplane departed from the left side of the runway. The aircraft then nosed over and ultimately came to rest in an inverted position. At the time of the accident, the wind conditions were calm, with winds blowing from 050 degrees at a speed of 4 knots.
Findings
The primary factors contributing to this incident include the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll-out and the subsequent departure from the runway environment. The tailwheel configuration of the aircraft likely contributed to the difficulty in maintaining stability on the turf surface, leading to the nosing over and inversion.
Safety message
Pilots operating tailwheel-equipped aircraft should exercise heightened caution during landing roll-outs, particularly on turf runways. Maintaining precise directional control is critical to preventing runway departures and potential structural damage or inversion of the aircraft.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll-out, which resulted in the aircraft departing the runway and nosing over.