N37820

On September 25, 2000, at 1700 hours Pacific daylight time, a Culver LFA, N37820, ran off the runway, and nosed over while landing on a private airstrip near Ione, California. The airplane was destroyed, and the certificated airline transport pilot received serious injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The local flight originated from the private airstrip earlier that afternoon. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed.

A witness reported that the pilot was landing to the east on the east-west dirt strip when the airplane began veering to the right. After rolling about 300 feet down the strip, the airplane ran off the right side of the runway, struck a fence collapsing the main gear, and nosed over.

The witness also reported that after looking at the airplane's track in the dirt, it appeared that the right main was more pronounced. He said that the right main tire also showed evidence of abrasion on its tread surface. He checked the brakes in the airplane and found that the right brake was "definitely" dragging. He reported that the airplane was equipped with Cleveland brakes in accordance with the applicable supplemental type certificate (STC).

Post crash examination revealed a broken rotor disk on the right main landing gear.