History of Flight
On June 8, 2010, at approximately 10:19 eastern daylight time, a Boeing Stearman B75N1, registration N27WE, nosed over upon landing on runway 1 at Ronald Reagan Washington Airport (DCA), Arlington, Virginia. The flight was operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 with visual meteorological conditions and a VFR flight plan. The aircraft had departed Manassas Regional Airport (HEF) at 0945 eastern daylight time. Neither the pilot nor the passenger were injured.
According to the pilot, his aircraft was one of eight Stearman airplanes flying together from HEF to DCA to promote a Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum motion picture. Each airplane carried a media passenger to DCA.
The pilot stated that during preflight, he instructed the passenger not to touch the controls. The passenger later reported being told to "stay clear of the control stick" and to keep feet positioned away from the rudder pedals.
The eight airplanes approached DCA from the south. Initial clearance from the control tower was for runway 33, but it was changed to runway 1 due to a wind shift. As the pilot entered the flare at about 70 miles per hour, he planned to keep the tail in the air and roll farther down the runway to allow room for following aircraft. When the wheels touched, he inadvertently applied toe brakes via the rudder pedals, causing the airplane to flip onto the top wing and vertical stabilizer/rudder.
Both occupants released their seat belts and shoulder harnesses and exited the aircraft after the accident.
Injuries
None.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident resulted in damage to the upper wing, vertical stabilizer and rudder, engine, and propeller. The fuel tank was not breached, and no fire occurred.
The upper wing consists of a center section and left/right outboard wing panels. Each section had crush damage to leading edges and/or upper surfaces. A flying wire connecting the center section to the fuselage separated at one end.
The vertical stabilizer was crushed at the top, and the rudder was also crushed. Cables to the rudder pedals were intact.
Brakes were checked on the runway after the aircraft was turned right side up and were used during towing to a hangar. When wheels were removed, brake drums and shoes appeared new. The owner/pilot reported typically not needing to use the brakes and that the brake set was about five years old.
Skid marks from each tire were found on the runway, 92 feet before the first propeller strike marks. Both tires exhibited reverted rubber.
Aircraft Information
The accident aircraft, a Stearman B75N1 (serial number 75-6651), had its last annual inspection on April 1, 2010, and had accumulated 2,388 flight hours. The engine was a 330-horsepower Lycoming R-680-13 with 998 total hours and 498 hours since overhaul. The propeller was a controllable-pitch Hamilton Standard model 2B20.
Survival Aspects
The pilot occupied the rear seat and the passenger the front seat of the two-seat aircraft. Both wore 4-point restraint systems that functioned normally.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 55, held a Class 2 medical certificate with a limitation requiring glasses for near vision. His last medical examination was April 22, 2010, and his last flight review was August 3, 2008, in a Stearman airplane. He had a total flight time of 875 hours, with 190 hours in Stearman airplanes. In the 90, 30, and 24 days before the accident, he had flown 20, 8, and 2 hours in the Stearman, respectively.
Airport Information
Runway 1/19 at DCA is 6,869 feet long and 150 feet wide, paved with asphalt, and was dry at the time of the accident.
Additional Information
In a post-accident written statement, the pilot listed reasons for the event: 1. The aircraft was equipped with Bendix drum brakes that "grab" when any toe pressure is applied to the rudder pedals. 2. The rudder pedals were in a forward position to accommodate a pilot wearing a parachute; he did not wear a parachute for the accident flight, nor did his seat have a back cushion, and he did not readjust the rudder pedals rearward. 3. He wore thick-soled running shoes rather than the thinner-soled shoes he usually wore while flying. 4. He flies formation with his feet off the floorboard and up on the rudder pedals; he believes he did not drop his heels to the floorboards during landing, which could have lessened inadvertent braking. 5. Due to the type of airfields he usually uses, he seldom uses brakes during landing, despite having over 600 landings in the accident airplane.