N33976

On April 13, 1997, approximately 0900 mountain daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC12-65, N33976, was substantially damaged in a bounced landing and subsequent loss of control during touch-and-go landing practice at the Plentywood, Montana airport. The private pilot, the airplane's sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local 14 CFR 91 flight from Plentywood.

The pilot reported that he had not flown the Taylorcraft for one year prior to the accident and had made an appointment for later that morning for a biennial flight review (BFR). He stated that immediately before the accident, he did three uneventful touch-and-go's with the president of the Big Muddy Flying Club, which owned the aircraft. The club president (who stated he was not a flight instructor) exited the aircraft after the third touch-and-go, leaving the pilot as the sole occupant. The accident occurred on the pilot's first landing attempt as the sole occupant. The pilot stated that he "did not hold the plane off long enough", hit main wheels first and added power, which had no initial effect. He stated that at about the time the engine began to regain power, the right wing stalled, dropped, and dragged the ground, turning the airplane 90 degrees to the right. The aircraft then entered a wheat stubble field adjacent to the runway, struck a furrow, and flipped over.

The pilot stated that he was landing on the east-to-west turf strip at the airport (runway 26 is 2,150 feet long and 60 feet wide, according to the U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory) and that the weather at the time of the accident was good, with a left quartering headwind, but that winds in the general time frame of the flight varied from a left quartering headwind to a left quartering tailwind.

An FAA aviation safety inspector from the Helena, Montana Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), who interviewed the accident pilot by telephone, reported that the pilot "could not provide a copy of his Flight Review logbook endorsement, as there had been no BFR within the last 24 months as required by the FAR", and that the pilot "had no recollection of having a logbook endorsement for flying conventional gear aircraft." Subsequent review of copies of the pilot's logbook, which had been furnished to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) by the pilot, revealed that the pilot had received a total of 9.4 hours of dual flight instruction in tailwheel aircraft between March 1990 and February 1995, all in the BC12. However, the pilot did not furnish any evidence of a tailwheel aircraft endorsement, nor of any tailwheel aircraft pilot-in-command time logged before April 15, 1991, per the requirements of 14 CFR 61.31(g). The most recent flight logged by the pilot in a tailwheel aircraft was in a BC12 on June 14, 1995. The most recent BFR documented in the logbook copy took place on February 11, 1990.

The club president, who witnessed the accident, stated that he believed the hesitation in the engine's power response was most likely attributable to engine flooding due to excessively rapid throttle application by the pilot. An inspection authorization (IA) mechanic from Culbertson, Montana, who examined the aircraft's Continental A65-8 engine after the accident, reported to the NTSB IIC during an October 22, 1997 telephone inquiry that during his engine examination, he found no evidence of mechanical problems with the engine that would account for a preimpact loss of power.

According to the pilot's accident report, his total flight time was 213.5 hours, including 12.8 hours in the accident aircraft. According to the Helena FSDO inspector, all of the pilot's tailwheel aircraft time was logged in the BC12.