Glassic Composites SQ-2000 XL N10736

Summary

On 10 July 2004 at about 15:35 local time, a Glassic Composites SQ-2000 XL registered N10736, operated by Stanley Keith Montgomery, was involved in an accident near Dayton, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 July 2004 at 15:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Dayton, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Mark Anton Airport (2A0)

Coordinates

35.4864, -84.9311

Aircraft

Glassic Composites SQ-2000 XL

Registration

N10736

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Stanley Keith Montgomery

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dayton → Dayton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL04CA154

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop and the subsequent collapse of the landing gear.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to practice takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern. The pilot stated that he reduced engine power and extended the landing gear on the base leg and heard a "pop" noise. He stated that he initially though that the noise might have been a backfire of the engine when he reduced power. He stated that he observed the gear pump indication of cycle complete, a three-green indication of gear extended and locked, and visually observed the left landing gear extended, so he decided to proceed with the approach. He stated that on the landing roll approximately 200-300 yards after touchdown, the left wing began to descend, and he raised the left wing to maintain level, but it slowly made contact with the runway. He stated that he did not apply power for a go-around. He stated directional control of the airplane was lost and the airplane departed the runway surface to the left, and ground looped. The pilot stated that the right main landing gear then collided with a boulder, and the right main and nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded in the grass on its belly 400-500 feet and collided with a fence. The post-accident examination of the airplane wreckage revealed that the nose and the main landing gear were collapsed and bent and the rod. Further examination revealed that the end bearing head of the hydraulic actuator of the left main landing gear was found broken at the upper neck. The three-bladed wooden propeller was sheared on all blades. The engine appeared to be intact with no visible external damage and the internal engine components rotated freely. Further examination of the rod end bearing head revealed that the fracture was a bending overload failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.