Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and his improper compensation for wind. Contributing was a crosswind.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On April 23, 1998, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a 1929 Waco GXE, N903H, registered to a private individual, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross-country flight, ground looped on landing to runway 05 at Souther Field, Americus, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the commercial-rated pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight departed Cross City Airport, Florida, 2 hours 30 minutes before the accident.
The pilot stated the biplane started veering left on landing roll, he lost directional control, and skidded off the left runway edge. As the airplane left the runway surface, the right main landing gear strut collapsed, and the right lower wing contacted the ground sustaining structural damage to the wing, the fuselage and the right horizontal stabilizer.
According to a witness, the biplane skidded sideways, (right side leading) off the runway edge after about 600 to 800 feet of rollout, collapsing the right main landing gear strut.
Observed winds at 1254 from the Macon, Georgia, AFSS, which is about 50 miles to the northeast of Souther Field, were 290 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot states his recollection of the wind direction on landing as being, "variable".
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# MIA98LA147