No fatalities

26 May 2019: Luscombe 8 A — Carbondale, IL

Carbondale, IL, United States

On 26 May 2019, a Luscombe 8 A was involved in an aviation accident near Carbondale, IL. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadvertent left heel brake application during the landing roll, which resulted in a noseover. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During landing roll, a pilot's foot slipped off the right rudder pedal after a wind gust. Attempting to use heel brakes to correct a runway excursion, he inadvertently applied both brakes, causing the airplane to nose over.

Incident Details

The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the landing roll, the airplane encountered a wind gust. He applied right rudder to counter the gust, but his foot slipped "completely off" the right rudder pedal. As a runway excursion to the left became imminent, the pilot attempted to use only the right heel brake to realign the airplane's heading. However, he inadvertently depressed both the left and right heel brakes, and the airplane nosed over.

Damage Assessment

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.

Pilot Report

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

PilotUnintentional use/operation