Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 N6106

Summary

On 29 July 2006 at about 14:45 local time, a Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 registered N6106 was involved in an accident near Jackson, Mississippi, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 July 2006 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Jackson, Mississippi, United States

Coordinates

32.4517, -90.3639

Aircraft

Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000

Registration

N6106

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jackson → Jackson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06CA194

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed on final approach resulting in an inadvertent stall and a subsequent loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 1,300-hour instrument rated private pilot lost control of the tailwheel-equipped vintage airplane while landing to the southeast at his privately owned grass airstrip. The pilot reported that the single engine biplane swerved to the right during the takeoff roll and the airplane began turning to the left after the airplane became airborne. The pilot continued his climb until the airplane cleared the trees on the north side of the airstrip and allowed the airplane to continued the left turn until he was back over the runway. The pilot stated on the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report (NTSB form 6120.1) that while on short final to land, "the nose fell, I tried to add power but the engine hesitated and the airplane impacted the ground." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the accident site, examined the airplane and found the main landing gear collapsed, as well as fire damage to the upper wing. The inspector was also able to establish flight control continuity. The examination also determined that during the impact sequence, an external engine oil line separated and oil was sprayed on the hot exhaust stack that initiated the post impact fire. The pilot reported that at the time of the mishap, the winds were variable at 2 knots. The winds at the nearest weather reporting facility, located 20 miles southeast of the accident site, were reporting the wind from 240 degrees at 3 knots at the time of the mishap.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.