Accident Overview
On October 29, 2014, at approximately 1620 eastern daylight time, a Curtiss P40B airplane, registered as N284CF, sustained substantial damage during an attempted landing at New Smyrna Beach Airport (EVB) in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which had departed from EVB about 1525. The flight was conducted as a test flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Pilot Report
According to the pilot, the airplane had been recently disassembled and transported from the United Kingdom to the United States, where it was reassembled. On the day of the accident, the airplane was on its second flight since reassembly. The pilot flew in the vicinity of EVB for about an hour before returning to the airport. Although winds favored runway 07, the pilot elected to land on runway 02 to reduce taxi time to parking. During the landing, the airplane touched down in a three-point attitude, and the tail wheel "shimmied" as the airplane began to turn to the right. The pilot attempted to arrest the turn with left rudder and left brake inputs, but the airplane ground looped, resulting in the collapse of the main landing gear.
In a follow-up telephone conversation, the pilot reported that all flight controls felt normal during the ground roll. He stated that "response to rudder/tailwheel steering was inadequate to arrest a directional swing" into the wind, and application of left brake produced no noticeable braking action. The pilot had about 40 hours of total time in the accident airplane make and model, of which about 1.2 hours had been accumulated within the 30 days prior to the accident. Prior to the most recent flight experience, the pilot had not piloted an airplane of the same make and model for about four years. A mechanic had verified that the rudder cables were "good and taut" prior to the second flight.
Postaccident Examination
An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the accident site and inspected the wreckage. She reported that the airplane had ground looped, resulting in substantial damage to the lower fuselage and left wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane's rudder control system revealed no mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded or limited directional control during landing.
Weather Conditions
The 1623 special weather observation at EVB reported wind from 070 degrees at 7 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, scattered clouds at 5,500 feet, temperature 28°C, dew point 17°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.02 inches of mercury. According to the pilot, around the time of the accident, the wind was from 060 degrees at 9 knots. An NTSB weather study indicated that a sea breeze was moving across the airport, with about 15-knot winds above the surface.