Luscombe 8E N71730

Summary

On 20 January 2008 at about 00:20 local time, a Luscombe 8E registered N71730, operated by Stephen W. Sawyer, was involved in an accident near Brigham City, Utah, 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

20 January 2008 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Brigham City, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Brigham City (BMC)

Coordinates

41.5522, -112.0622

Aircraft

Luscombe 8E

Registration

N71730

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Stephen W. Sawyer

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brigham City → Brigham City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08CA051

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the landing gear/ski attachment assembly due to inadequate maintenance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot took off in his ski-equipped airplane. Upon accelerating through 65 mph, just as the airplane was beginning to climb, the pilot heard a noise coming from the side of the airplane. He saw that the tip of a ski was dislodged from its normal position, and was upside down. After evaluating the situation, the pilot decided to land on the same ski runway. As the airplane decelerated following touchdown, the pilot lost directional control, and the airplane swerved and nosed over. During the subsequent examination of the airplane, a bungee cable, used to secure and position one of the skis to the landing gear strut, was found too long. The ski assembly shock cords on the skis were found to be in poor condition, aged, and weak.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.