2 Sep 2012: PIGGOTT JOHN H BEARHAWK

2 Sep 2012: PIGGOTT JOHN H BEARHAWK — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Sequim, WA, United States

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control on landing.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The student pilot, who is also the builder and owner of the experimental amateur-built tailwheel-equipped high wing airplane, took off from his home airport, made one landing there, and then took off again to conduct some cruise performance evaluations. He then conducted one landing and takeoff at a second airport, and then practiced several takeoffs and landings at a third airport. After that, he returned for landing on runway 27 at his home airport. That runway measured 3,510 feet long by 40 feet wide. The pilot reported that the approach was normal, but the air was somewhat bumpy. The pilot said that in the flare, the airplane got a "little sideways," and the left wingtip contacted the runway. Despite the pilot's efforts to correct the situation, the airplane veered to the right, and nosed over onto its back on the grass beside the runway. The pilot was uninjured, but the airplane sustained damage to its propeller, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions of the airplane. The automated weather observation at an airport about 13 miles west of the accident airport included winds from 320 degrees at 7 knots, and an unofficial weather station in the same town as the accident airport reported similar values. The pilot reported a total flight experience of about 42 hours, including about 32 hours in the accident airplane make and model.

Contributing factors

  • cause Student pilot
  • cause Directional control — Not attained/maintained

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 320/07kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.