Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Ocala International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ocala, Florida 34474
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 18:13 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he landed the airplane with a crosswind, and during the rollout the airplane veered to the left, ground looped, and departed the left side of the runway. The right main landing gear became caught in a grassy area, which brought the airplane to rest and resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the tailwheel lock mechanism of the free-castering tailwheel assembly was unable to keep the tailwheel engaged in the locked position. The mechanism that locked the tailwheel assembly in place was not broken; however, the spring of that particular tailwheel assembly kit worked in compression, rather than tension, which resulted in less pressure being applied to the tailwheel lock and greater susceptibility for the tailwheel to unlock during a crosswind landing. Subsequently, when the lock mechanism was moved repetitively, it became dislodged from the notch.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the tailwheel locking mechanism to remain engaged while landing in a crosswind, which resulted in a loss of directional control and runway excursion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/24/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1813 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Ocala |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34474 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 291011N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821316W |
| Event Location Airport | Ocala International Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | OCF |
| 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 | 90 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1750 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OCF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 90 |
| 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 | 6000 |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 110 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.87 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KOCF 242150Z 11005KT 10SM SCT060 SCT070 29/2 |
| 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) | 29129 |
| 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 | Nov 22 2011 11:53AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N250CH |
| NTSB Number | ERA11CA471 |
| 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 | PAYNE/FOSTER |
| Aircraft Model | GLASAIR |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 250 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1700 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 23 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 650 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GARNER WALTER C |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LOXAHATCHEE |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33470-4124 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | GARNER WALTER C |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | LOXAHATCHEE |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33470-4124 |
| 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 | MLB |
| Departure City | Melbourne |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1715 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | OCF |
| Destination City | Ocala |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 24 2011 2:00PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 7467 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |