Piper PA22 N8103C

Summary

On 10 July 2020 at about 14:25 local time, a Piper PA22 registered N8103C, operated by Richard S. Simpson, was involved in an accident near Culpeper, Virginia, 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

10 July 2020 at 14:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Culpeper, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Culpeper Rgnl (CJR)

Coordinates

38.5256, -77.8597

Aircraft

Piper PA22

Registration

N8103C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1954

Engines

1

Operator

Richard S. Simpson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Culpeper → Culpeper

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA248

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control on landing resulting in a runway excursion and subsequent ground loop. Contributing to the outcome were the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial actions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot/owner had recently purchased the tailwheel-equipped airplane, and while he had prior experience flying other tailwheel airplanes and had no prior experience in the accident airplane make and model. The purpose of accident flight was to gain experience while flying with a flight instructor. The pilot was flying in the left seat, which was the only seat equipped with wheel brakes, and the flight instructor was flying in the right seat. After an uneventful flight in the airport traffic pattern, the pilot approached the runway and touched down on the main landing gear. Shortly after the tailwheel touched down the airplane began drifting to the left. The pilot’s rudder inputs were ineffective in correcting the drift and the flight instructor assumed control of the airplane. The flight instructor reported that as he applied right rudder, the pilot applied braking forces that neutralized the flight instructor’s rudder inputs. The pilot eventually let go of the brakes after the airplane departed the left side of the runway, and with full right rudder still being applied by the flight instructor, the airplane veered back onto the runway. The airplane subsequently ground looped and the left main landing gear collapsed. The left wing and the fuselage were substantially damaged. Neither pilot reported any mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.