No fatalities

22 Jun 2020: Piper PA18 150 — Monroe, NC

Monroe, NC, United States

On 22 Jun 2020, a Piper PA18 150 was involved in an aviation accident near Monroe, NC. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadequate assessment of the landing area, which resulted in the airplane's encounter with tall weeds during landing and a subsequent nose-over. 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

A pilot performing reconnaissance flights over a farm field before landing reported that the airplane struck tall weeds, nosed over, and sustained substantial tail damage. No mechanical failures were noted.

Incident Details

A pilot returning to his farm executed both high and low reconnaissance flights over a farm field before attempting to land. According to the pilot's account, the landing was proceeding normally until the airplane struck some taller weeds present in the field. The impact caused the aircraft to nose over, resulting in substantial damage to the tail section.

Pilot's Account

The pilot reported that he did not expect the weeds to be as tall as they were. He stated that cutting all vegetation in the landing area might have prevented the accident. The pilot also noted that no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions occurred with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Damage

The accident resulted in substantial damage to the tail of the aircraft. No further details on the extent of damage or other potential damage were provided in the report.

Probable Cause

No probable cause was stated in the accident report.

Safety Considerations

While the pilot suggested that clearing the landing area of vegetation could have prevented the accident, no official analysis or recommendations have been issued based on this incident.

Contributing factors

PilotAwareness of conditionEffect on equipment