Humboldt Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Humboldt, Tennessee 38343
Wednesday, May 30, 2001 16:42 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The owner said that the pilot was being checked out on his aircraft, and while landing the aircraft, it ground looped 180-degrees, and the side load imparted to the tail section ripped the tailwheel off the empennage at the attach points, bending the bulkhead. The pilot stated that the accident occurred when directional control was lost during the landing rollout, resulting in a slow right turn during which the airplane exited the runway, and stopped about 20 feet from the runway edge, in the opposite direction. According to the pilot, there had been no previous mechanical failure or malfunction with the aircraft, or any of its systems, prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing rollout, resulting in a ground loop/ground swerve and substantial damage to the aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/30/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1642
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Humboldt
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 38343
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Humboldt Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID M53
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 421
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1642 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID MKL
Elevation of weather observation facility 434
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) 1000
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10312
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atl Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date May 30 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1855
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2001 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Memphis, TN

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4893R
NTSB Number MIA01LA148
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model A188B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18802411T
Certified Max Gross Weight 3300
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 4 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 4139
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Londe Air Service Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4655 E. Main Street
Aircraft Owner City Humboldt
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 38343
Operator is an individual? No
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 --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code M53
Departure City Humboldt
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jul 10 2001 3:27PM
User who most recently changed record PREJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 04
Runway Length 4003
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --