Bowles QUESTAIR VENTURE N39SB

Summary

On 18 August 2004 at about 01:30 local time, a Bowles QUESTAIR VENTURE registered N39SB, operated by Sierra Bravo Partnership, was involved in an accident near Liberal, Kansas, United States. 2 people were 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

18 August 2004 at 01:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Liberal, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.0442, -100.9597

Aircraft

Bowles QUESTAIR VENTURE

Registration

N39SB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sierra Bravo Partnership

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Liberal → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04CA230

Nobody was injured.

The loss of directional control during landing for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The amateur-built experimental airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over after it veered off the left side of the runway. The pilot reported that he returned to land after 20 minutes of flight and that the airplane operated normally during the flight, including the touchdown. He reported that when the rudder lost its effectiveness during landing rollout, the airplane started to drift to the left. He applied right brake but without effect. He reported the airplane exited the left side of the runway and the nose gear "dug in" and the airplane nosed over about 2,000 feet from the touchdown point. An inspection of the airplane revealed that the left and right brakes operated. The nose gear fork was found broken with numerous fracture surfaces. All the fracture surfaces were consistent with overstress fractures. The nose wheel tire exhibited scuffing on the right half of the tire around its entire circumference. Grass was found embedded in between the tire and wheel rim on the right side of the tire. The left side of the tire had no scuff marks. The inspection of the nose wheel steering linkage indicated the nose wheel linkage was positioned in the full left direction. The inspection of the accident site revealed three tires skid marks approximately 1,600 feet in length extended from the airplane wreckage back to the touchdown zone on the runway. The tire marks veered to the left after touchdown. The airplane was equipped with an electric/hydraulic nose wheel steering system. The pilot reported that the nose wheel steering system was off during the landing. The airplane was equipped with the airplane's originally designed nose landing gear. The airplane was also equipped with the airplane's originally designed nose gear steering system's hydraulic actuator/shimmy dampner and steering linkage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.