Nebraska City Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nebraska City, Nebraska 68140
Sunday, June 18, 2006 16:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged when the pilot lost directional control during the landing rollout. The airplane subsequently ground looped causing the left wing to contact the ground and the left main landing gear to collapse. The pilot reported that he flew a "normal downwind to final" with a "very good touchdown followed by the start of a smooth rollout." He stated that the tail wheel began to "wobble (chatter)" and the airplane drifted to the left side of the runway. He added engine power as the airplane reached the edge of the runway and applied rudder correction to return to the runway centerline. The pilot stated, "Too much right rudder started the ground loop which finished with the airplane having turned 180 [degrees]." When the airplane came to rest, the "left wing was down in the dirt with the left main folded under the airplane," according to the pilot. He noted no malfunctions with the airplane. He also commented that more patience with the tail wheel "chatter" may have prevented the over controlling which led to the ground loop.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout and the resulting ground loop. A contributing factor was the excessive tail wheel steering (rudder) input by the pilot.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/18/2006
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Nebraska City
Event State NEBRASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 68140
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403626N
Event Location Longitude 0955156W
Event Location Airport Nebraska City Muni
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AFK
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 1162
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1650 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID AFK
Elevation of weather observation facility 1162
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20410
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 19 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 3 2006 2:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Lincoln FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1270C
NTSB Number CHI06CA159
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-22-135
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-1063
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2727
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Claude I. Hobson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Bellevue
Aircraft Owner State NE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 PMV
Departure City Plattsmouth
Departure State NE
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
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 - roll
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 21 2006 5:15PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 4500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --