Piper J3C N42218

Summary

On 13 August 2018 at about 16:00 local time, a Piper J3C registered N42218 was involved in an accident near Friendswood, Texas, 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

13 August 2018 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Friendswood, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Polly Ranch (7XS0)

Coordinates

29.5047, -95.1753

Aircraft

Piper J3C

Registration

N42218

Category

Airplane

Year built

1945

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Friendswood → Friendswood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18TA330

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to conduct a flight in an airplane that had a tailwheel with degraded locking pins, which allowed the tailwheel to unlock and swivel out of alignment and precluded the pilot from regaining directional control on the ground during a crosswind landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the personal flight, the commercial pilot completed several uneventful touch-and-go landings at two nearby airports, then returned and landed on the runway with a right crosswind at 9 knots. As the airplane slowed on the runway, it weathervaned into the wind and veered to the right. The pilot was unable to steer with the tailwheel, and the airplane exited the right side of the runway and collided with a tree. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the tailwheel locking mechanism pins were worn and degraded. The locking mechanism could not withstand even a small amount of side pressure; as pressure was applied to the tailwheel, the locking mechanism would unlock and the tailwheel would swivel out of alignment. It is likely that, due to the degraded locking pins, the tailwheel became unlocked before the final landing and was out of alignment during the landing roll, which precluded the pilot from regaining directional control. It is the pilot's responsibility to ensure that the airplane is in a safe condition for flight; in this case, the pilot did not ensure that the tailwheel locking mechanism was in good working condition before he decided to conduct the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.