Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
North Palm Beach County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
West Palm Beach, Florida 33412
Thursday, April 12, 2012 14:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
**This brief was modified on November 1, 2013. Please see the public docket for this accident to view the original report.**
The pilot stated that when he returned to the airport after a local flight, he elected to land on the turf runway, which intersected an asphalt runway. He said he touched down on the main landing gear "fairly long" on the first portion of the turf runway at a speed of about 60 mph. The pilot delayed lowering the tailwheel until the airplane was crossing the asphalt surface and then lowered the tailwheel firmly to the ground. The airplane began to veer left, and the pilot applied full right rudder and a "slight amount" of right brake to regain directional control. When the airplane transitioned from the asphalt surface to the turf runway, it abruptly nosed over. The airplane came to rest inverted, incurring substantial damage to the rudder. An examination of the runway's asphalt to turf transition section revealed that the airplane's main landing gear tires dug into the turf as it left the slightly higher asphalt. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures during the landing and rollout. While the airplane was being repaired after the accident, a mechanic determined that the bolts holding the main wheel halves in position were excessively long, causing the wheel halves to separate and the brake discs to change position when the airplane transitioned from the asphalt to the turf runway. This condition likely caused the brake discs to jam in their housing and the wheels to stop rotating.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate assembly of the brakes, which caused them to lock during the landing roll when the airplane transitioned from asphalt to turf, resulting in the airplane nosing over.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/12/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | West Palm Beach |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33412 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 265106N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0801334W |
| Event Location Airport | North Palm Beach County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | F45 |
| 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 | 22 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1353 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 135 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PBI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 20 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 350 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| 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) | 30308 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA SROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 7 2013 12:27PM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N12003 |
| NTSB Number | ERA12CA278 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18 6013 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 4 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 6249 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Murray Company LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1037 Country Club Dr |
| Aircraft Owner City | Palm Beach |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33408 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Dickron E. Murray |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1037 Country Club Dr |
| Operator City | Palm Beach |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33408 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | F45 |
| Departure City | West Palm Beach |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1345 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | F45 |
| Destination City | West Palm Beach |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 13 2012 1:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 08L |
| Runway Length | 3679 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |