Avenger Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sweetwater, Texas 79556
Thursday, October 5, 2006 14:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 4,319-hour airline transport rated pilot completed the third leg of his flight and was landing at an intermediate stop to refuel the 1941-vintage biplane. The pilot reported that he executed a normal approach for landing on runway 04 (a dry asphalt 5,659-foot long by 75-foot wide runway) with the winds being reported from 050 degrees at 5 knots. During the landing flare for a three-point landing, the pilot reported that the nose of the airplane began to veer to the right and roll to the left. The pilot attempted to correct for the drift when the airplane exited the right side of the runway and ground looped. During the ground loop, the fabric-covered left wing impacted the ground resulting in structural damage to the left wing strut. The pilot, who was uninjured, reported having accumulated a total of 11-hours in the make and model.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/5/2006
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Sweetwater
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79556
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 322800N
Event Location Longitude 1002800W
Event Location Airport Avenger Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KSWW
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 2380
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) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 5
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20875
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2007 9:40AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N27933
NTSB Number DFW07CA003
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 Boeing
Aircraft Model 75
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 75-630
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 12280
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AMERICAN AIRPOWER HERITAGE FLY MUSEUM
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 62000
Aircraft Owner City MIDLAND
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79711
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 KETN
Departure City Eastland
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KSWW
Destination City Sweetwater
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 14 2006 5:44PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 4
Runway Length 5659
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --