Manatee Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palmetto, Florida 34220
Thursday, January 7, 1999 16:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, during the first few landings he had felt a vibration. On the accident landing, the left wheel faring failed and went under the wheel. The airplane skidded approximately 30 feet and nosed-over damaging the prop, windshield, right wing, and the vertical stabilizer. Examination of the airplane revealed that there were no mechanical failures. The left wheel faring attach screws on the inside had sheared off, and the attach bolt on the outside had pulled through the fiberglass on the faring. The same damage was noted on the right faring except that it remained partially attached. Additionally, there were tire marks in the grass and sand made by the left and right main tires, which indicated that the brakes were applied at a slow speed. The marks terminated at the point were the airplane nosed-over.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the wheel fairing attach bolts that resulted in the loss of control during the landing roll when the fairing became lodged under the left wheel.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/7/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1645
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City PALMETTO
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34220
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport MANATEE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 48X
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 27
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1650 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID SRQ
Elevation of weather observation facility 27
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1094
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 7 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1820
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1231K
NTSB Number ATL99LA039
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Luscombe
Aircraft Model 8-A
Aircraft Series Identifier 8-A
Aircraft Serial Number 3958
Certified Max Gross Weight 1195
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 28
Airframe Hours 3207
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name STEVEN C. WALTERS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6812 PINEHURST PL
Aircraft Owner City BRADENTON
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34202
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 48X
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1615
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 7
Runway Length 3700
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --