Nas Lemoore/Reeves Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lemoore, California 93246
Saturday, June 7, 1997 8:10 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was unable to control a sudden swerve to the left during the landing rollout, so he added full power to go around. The power application torqued the airplane into a fully developed ground loop from which it came to rest after approximately 135 degrees of turn. During the turn, both main gear collapsed, allowing the propeller to contact the runway surface. The pilot also stated that the right brake faded during the landing rollout, and he felt that this contributed to his inability to control the initial swerve.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing, which resulted in a ground swerve and subsequent overload failure of the main landing gear. Related factors were a left crosswind and partial loss of the right wheel brake.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/7/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 810
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LEMOORE
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93246
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport NAS LEMOORE/REEVES
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NLC
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 234
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 855 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 85
Weather Observation Facility ID NLC
Elevation of weather observation facility 234
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 680
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 862
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 7 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1015
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:20PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N450MF
NTSB Number LAX97LA201
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 Boeing Stearman
Aircraft Model A75N1
Aircraft Series Identifier A75N1
Aircraft Serial Number 75-6618
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 Sep 10 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 120
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name STEARMAN RESTORATIONS INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 29
Aircraft Owner City CHINO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91706
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name RONALD A. CARAWAY
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 13950 IROQUOIS ROAD
Operator City APPLE VALLEY
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 92307
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 No
Departure Airport Code 018
Departure City HANFORD
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 750
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code NLC
Destination City
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26L
Runway Length 13500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --