N5491W

On April 23, 2011, a Tew William P TEAM ROCKET F1 (N5491W) was involved in an incident near Heber, UT. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.

The pilot was returning from a 1-hour local area flight. Upon landing, the airplane bounced slightly, and after the tail wheel touched down, the airplane veered sharply to the right. The pilot attempted to maintain directional control with left rudder and brake; however, the airplane departed the runway and into the grassy area between the runway and taxiway. As the airplane slowed, it turned sharply to the right, which allowed the right wing to contact the ground. The pilot thought that the left brake may have failed after touchdown, but due to the damage to the landing gear assembly it was not possible to perform a brake inspection. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane with no mechanical anomalies identified.

This incident is documented in NTSB report WPR11CA206. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N5491W.