N44PN – NEWBERG PL-4A – 1997-09-12 NTSB Accident Report

On September 12, 1997, a Newberg PL-4A (N44PN) was involved in an incident near Placerville, CA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the rollout phase of the landing sequence, which resulted in a gound swerve.

On September 12, 1997, at 1300 hours Pacific daylight time, an experimental Newberg PL-4A, N44PN, ground looped while landing at the Placerville, California, airport. The pilot had begun a personal flight from San Carlos, California, and was en route to Carson City, Nevada, with a planned fuel stop in Placerville. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. No flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported that his first landing at Placerville was "rough" so he decided to practice touch-and-go landings before going on to Carson City. The pilot said that on his last landing, "I got a bad bounce from my tail wheel and was too slow in reacting and it got away from me."

This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX97LA323. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N44PN.