Cessna A188B N731GE

Summary

On 16 July 2005 at about 22:40 local time, a Cessna A188B registered N731GE was involved in an accident near Bishop, California, 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

16 July 2005 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Bishop, California, United States

Nearest airport

Eastern Sierra Regional (BIH)

Coordinates

37.3731, -118.3633

Aircraft

Cessna A188B

Registration

N731GE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Yerington → Bishop

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA237

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the tailwheel mount during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The tail wheel equipped airplane experienced a failure and separation of the tailwheel during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop. The pilot reported that the landing was normal but the airplane began to drift to the right shortly after touching down. He applied left rudder input to correct, but the airplane continued to drift to the right. He applied additional left rudder to no avail and a "violent tail wheel shimmy developed." The pilot reduced aft elevator control in an attempt to reduce the load on the tailwheel, but the shimmy became violent, and he had trouble keeping his feet on the rudder pedals. The pilot then heard a loud bang and the aircraft made a sudden turn to the left. The airplane ground looped and came to rest upright. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane following the event reported that the tailwheel failed at its mount area but the control cables remained attached to their respective steering horns.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.