Pitt-Greenville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Greenville, North Carolina 27858
Sunday, April 11, 2010 13:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane stated that he made a three-point landing on the asphalt runway. After touchdown, the airplane began to pull to the right and the pilot corrected by applying left rudder. The airplane immediately turned "hard left,” collapsing the right main landing gear. The right wing impacted the runway and sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures. The pilot had received a tailwheel endorsement the day prior to the accident, and reported 5 hours of flight time in the accident airplane. He also stated to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he had received limited exposure to operating the tailwheel-equipped airplane on hard-surface runways, as his tailwheel flight instruction was conducted mostly from turf runways.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/11/2010
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1340
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Greenville
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27858
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 353804N
Event Location Longitude 0772304W
Event Location Airport Pitt-Greenville
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PGV
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 26
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1305 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PGV
Elevation of weather observation facility 26
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.33
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27019
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2010 10:26AM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N897DC
NTSB Number ERA10CA227
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 MAULE
Aircraft Model MX7
Aircraft Series Identifier 180A
Aircraft Serial Number 20012C
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Apr 5 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2877
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Matthew M. Soddy
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Winterville
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28590
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Matthew M. Soddy
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Winterville
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 28590
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 NC47
Departure City Winterville
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PGV
Destination City Greenville
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2010 10:26AM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 02
Runway Length 6505
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --