Boeing E75 N4859N

Summary

On 18 August 2017 at about 19:40 local time, a Boeing E75 registered N4859N was involved in an accident near Centerville, Tennessee, 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 2017 at 19:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Centerville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Centerville Muni (GHM)

Coordinates

35.8381, -87.4453

Aircraft

Boeing E75

Registration

N4859N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1943

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Centerville → Centerville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA504

Nobody was injured.

The pilot receiving instruction’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot receiving instruction reported that, during the landing roll before stopping, the tailwheel-equipped biplane "made a sudden move to [the] left." He added that the flight instructor's quick reactions kept the biplane on the runway and going straight. The pilot then regained control of the biplane, and the left wing dropped and "despite corrective inputs on the controls would not respond to further control inputs," and the airplane then ground looped to the right. Subsequently, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the biplane came to rest nose down on the runway. The biplane sustained substantial damage to all four wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that "it was [his] personal contention and belief that the upper left gear failed[,] resulting in substantial damage to the [biplane] and the resultant ground loop." He added that "[he] did not believe that this particular incident could have been prevented." A review of a video of the accident showed, in part, a loss of control early in the landing roll, followed by a subsequent loss of control and ground loop to the right.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.