Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Cardwell Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Palmer, Alaska 99645
Friday, August 12, 2005 15:00 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The commercial certificated pilot was landing a tricycle gear-equipped kit-built experimental airplane on a private airstrip that had an uneven dirt/gravel surface. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear began producing scuff marks on the runway surface that became progressively deeper. The nose gear strut and fork eventually dug into the runway, and the nose landing gear strut was bent aft. The airplane nosed over, and received structural damage to the fuselage, left elevator, left wing, rudder, and vertical stabilizer. An exam of the runway revealed surface undulations in the area where the nose wheel fork assembly began to scuff the tops of the undulations, producing slight gouge marks that increased in depth and ended where the nose fork dug into the ground. There were no skidding signatures or evidence that the main landing wheel tires were locked before the airplane nosed over. An exam of the airplane revealed that the nose gear strut was bent aft and upward from its normal geometry. The nose fork assembly is comprised of a metal swiveling housing block, attached to the lower end of the threaded strut by a nut. The bottom edge of the threaded nose fork strut is about 4 inches from the ground. A teardrop-shaped fiberglass wheel pant enclosed the accident airplane's nose fork assembly and upper portion of the nose wheel and tire. The distance from the bottom of the wheel pant and ground is about 2 and 7/16 inches. Staff examined data for 18 recent accidents and one incident in which Vans Aircraft series RV-6A, RV-7A, RV-8A, or RV-9A airplanes have become inverted during landing. Several involved hard touchdowns, bounced landings (six), or landing in a slip. Several others involved off-field landings in rough terrain, hitting a ditch, or going down an embankment. Four of the accidents and one incident involved a touchdown and the start of a rollout on an unpaved runway, followed by the nose gear folding back. The airplanes would then slide for varying distances before nosing over. Staff also examined data for four additional incidents in which the nose gear collapsed during taxi but the airplane did not nose over. These nine accidents and incidents occurred on various unpaved surfaces including gravel, turf, soft turf, hard surface with "washboard" bumps, and slight depressions, and they all involved the nose gear strut and fork digging into the ground and the nose gear bending aft. The kit manufacturer posted a letter on their website stating that their review of NTSB accident reports pointed to pilot proficiency as the most significant factor. The letter said the company has produced a lighter weight leg/fork combination, with increased clearance between the nose strut axle.
The NTSB's Structures Study is available at the following address: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/RV_Study.pdf . The NTSB's Photos and Data report that provides details on all of the RV nose-over accidents and incidents can be found at the following URL address: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/RV_Photos.pdf.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of nose gear strut/fork-to-ground clearance that led to the collapse of the nose gear strut and nose-over during the landing roll. Factors contributing to the accident were an uneven dirt/gravel surface runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/12/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1500 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Palmer |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99645 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 613718N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1491711W |
| Event Location Airport | Cardwell Strip |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | 490 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | -- |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21390 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2007 1:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N63EB |
| NTSB Number | ANC05LA123 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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 | Brabandt |
| Aircraft Model | RV-9A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 90057 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 15 |
| Airframe Hours | 115 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Earl W. Brabandt |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sparks |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| 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 | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | PAAQ |
| Departure City | Palmer |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1450 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 34AK |
| Destination City | Palmer |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 11 2006 2:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 1200 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |