North American T 6G N3167G

Summary

On 8 April 2017 at about 17:40 local time, a North American T 6G registered N3167G was involved in an accident near Culpepper, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 April 2017 at 17:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Culpepper, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Culpeper Regional Airport (CJR)

Coordinates

38.5256, -77.8597

Aircraft

North American T 6G

Registration

N3167G

Category

Airplane

Year built

1949

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Culpeper → Culpeper

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17CA149

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane and directional control during the landing roll and subsequent go-around in gusting wind conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that, after a thorough preflight inspection and passenger briefing, he started the engine and noted that there was an 80° left crosswind at 5 knots, gusting to 15 knots. He performed an engine run-up, checked the flight controls, and then departed to fly around the local area for about 20 minutes. He then returned to the departure airport, and because the airplane was only equipped with a single radio and there was traffic congestion, he did not monitor the weather or ask for a wind check. He performed a "high break" at traffic pattern altitude, and while on final approach with the flaps fully extended, he maintained a left-wing-low attitude to correct for the left crosswind. He performed a wheel landing, but as the tailwheel was lowering, the left wing raised "dramatically," and the right wingtip contacted the runway. He added power to abort the landing, but because the right wing was contacting the runway, the airplane pivoted to the right. The airplane went off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The reported wind conditions about 5 minutes before the accident included a variable crosswind between 80° and 170° left of the selected runway heading at 8 knots, gusting to 16 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.