Summary
On October 22, 2016, a Fairchild M62A (N73529) was involved in an incident near Valley Center, KS. All 3 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The other pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll and to see and avoid the airplane stopped on the edge of the runway.
The pilot of the tail-wheel equipped Fairchild airplane reported that after landing on the 2,400-foot long by 100-foot wide private grass runway, he pulled off to the right of the runway about 2/3 of the way down with his engine at idle power to watch a Stearman airplane, which he had been flying in tandem with, land. The Fairchild pilot further reported that the Stearman appeared to be approaching a little fast, touched down about 1/2 way down the runway, and started drifting to the right, toward the stopped Fairchild.
The pilot of the tail-wheel equipped Stearman biplane reported that during the landing roll he was looking out of the left side of the Stearman, misjudged the width of the grass runway, and "clipped [the Fairchild] on [the] edge of runway".
This incident is documented in NTSB report GAA17CA053. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N73529.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The other pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll and to see and avoid the airplane stopped on the edge of the runway.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
The pilot of the tail-wheel equipped Fairchild airplane reported that after landing on the 2,400-foot long by 100-foot wide private grass runway, he pulled off to the right of the runway about 2/3 of the way down with his engine at idle power to watch a Stearman airplane, which he had been flying in tandem with, land. The Fairchild pilot further reported that the Stearman appeared to be approaching a little fast, touched down about 1/2 way down the runway, and started drifting to the right, toward the stopped Fairchild.
The pilot of the tail-wheel equipped Stearman biplane reported that during the landing roll he was looking out of the left side of the Stearman, misjudged the width of the grass runway, and "clipped [the Fairchild] on [the] edge of runway". The Stearman then impacted a tree, resulting in substantial damage to the lower left wing and both right wings.
The Fairchild sustained substantial damage to the engine cowl and firewall.
The Fairchild pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Stearman pilot reported that it was possible that the tailwheel bracket was broken prior to the airplane colliding with the Fairchild and impacting trees.
In a postaccident interview with the investigator-in-charge (IIC), the Stearman pilot reported that during the initial preflight and taxi of the airplane, the tailwheel bracket "looked good" and he had no issues steering during taxi and takeoff.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# GAA17CA053