History of Flight
On April 26, 2014, about 1239 eastern daylight time, a Champion 7ECA (Citabria), registration N9122E, was substantially damaged when it collided with a riding mower during the landing roll shortly after landing at Taylorsville Airport (NC2), Taylorsville, North Carolina. The private pilot suffered minor injuries. The operator of the riding mower sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, which had departed from Crossville Memorial Airport (CSV), Crossville, Tennessee.
The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to visit his son, an airframe and powerplant mechanic at NC2, a privately-owned, uncontrolled airport. He departed CSV about 2 hours and 45 minutes before the accident. Upon arriving at NC2, he entered the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 08, announced his position on Unicom, and performed a wheel landing. After touchdown, he lowered the tailwheel onto the runway surface, looked up, and saw a man on a riding mower about 150 feet ahead. He applied maximum braking; the airplane's nose contacted the ground and slid until it struck the mower and nosed over on top of it. After the airplane came to rest, the pilot egressed through a window. He heard the mower operator yelling and called 911.
Personnel Information
According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. His most recent third-class medical certificate application was dated February 5, 2013. He reported 855 total flight hours, including 112 hours in the accident airplane make and model.
Aircraft Information
The accident aircraft was a single-engine, tailwheel-equipped airplane with a 115-horsepower air-cooled engine driving a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller. It was designed for flight training, utility, and personal use, with a tandem two-seat configuration. The fuselage and tail surfaces were constructed of welded metal tubing; the outer shape was formed by wooden formers and longerons covered with fabric. The fuselage truss was triangular, and the strut-braced wings, fuselage, and tail surfaces were fabric-covered with aluminum ribs. The airplane was manufactured in 1970. Its most recent annual inspection was completed on April 2, 2013, at which time the airplane had accrued about 948 total hours of operation.
Meteorological Information
Recorded weather at Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), 14 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, at 1253 included calm wind, 10 miles visibility, clear skies, temperature 23°C, dew point 6°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination of the accident site by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) and an FAA inspector revealed that the airplane appeared to have landed long, along the right edge of Runway 8, and struck the riding mower about 180 feet from the runway end. The riding mower was dark green, traveling east parallel to the grass runway off the right side, facing away from the landing airplane when hit. The airplane's propeller struck the left side of the mower operator, the steering wheel, and the hood. The right main landing gear then struck the rear of the mower inboard of the left rear tire, pushing the mower forward about 20 feet, rolling it and the operator over, while the airplane nosed over on top of them.
The airplane sustained substantial damage: the right main landing gear assembly separated from its mounting; the right wing strut separated from its lower mounting and bent; the left wing strut separated from its lower mounting; the wing spar broke; the propeller bent; the engine cowling tore and crushed; the windshield broke; the empennage damaged; and fabric covering on the fuselage, wings, and empennage torn and punctured in numerous places.
Medical and Pathological Information
The pilot received minor injuries. The riding mower operator was critically injured and succumbed to those injuries on May 15, 2014.
Tests and Research
The Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3A) notes that tailwheel airplanes exhibit different handling characteristics compared to tricycle gear airplanes. The tailwheel design results in a nose-high attitude on the ground, restricting forward visibility. Objects directly ahead may be difficult or impossible to see. The handbook also states that on a normal approach without wind drift, the airplane should be aligned with the runway centerline and land in the first third of the runway.
The Citabria Pilot's Operating Manual for the Model 7ECA provides landing distance data. At gross weight, power off, zero wind, on a hard surface at sea level at 59°F, the total distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle is 775 feet, with a ground roll of 400 feet. At 2,500 feet above mean sea level at 50°F, total distance is 805 feet, ground roll 430 feet. No data was published for turf runways.