Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
the failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft during landing. Factors to the accident were the crosswind, the failure of the pilot to maintain compensation for the crosswind condition on approach, and the inadvertent ground loop encountered by the pilot.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On August 1, 1999, at 1500 central daylight time, a North American AT-6G, N98FP, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing, on Runway 33 (4,100 feet by 75 feet, dry/asphalt), at the Harlan Municipal Airport, Harlan, Iowa. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries to himself or to his one passenger. The flight had originated from the Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about 1200.
In a written statement, the pilot stated that he was landing in a crosswind. The pilot stated that the crosswind correction used on the approach was not "...well stabilized, and [a] go around was contemplated, but [the airplane] touched down and ground looped."
The aircraft departed the left side of the runway and struck a small ditch embankment. The aircraft came to rest approximately 100 yards west of the runway.
A weather report for a reporting station located at the Aububon County Airport, Audubon, Iowa, which is 20 nautical miles and 70-degrees magnetic from the accident site, was reporting winds from 30-degrees magnetic at 8 knots gusting to 14 knots.
A post accident examination of the airplane revealed no preexisting anomalies.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CHI99LA274