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Aeronca L3 pilot reported loss of directional control followed by a ground loop on the landing roll that could have been caused by his back seat passenger accidentally stepping on the left rudder pedal.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1402836 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201611 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Aeronca Champion |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 117 Flight Crew Total 15800 Flight Crew Type 8 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Passenger |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Ground Event / Encounter Object |
Narrative:
My plan was to go flying with a friend; on what was a beautiful day with clear skies; unlimited visibility and calm surface winds. I checked the weather and NOTAMS; put on sufficient fuel for our flight and conducted a thorough pre-flight. When we arrived at [destination]; the winds were still calm and we were the only aircraft in the pattern for [the] runway.I conducted 3 to 4 touch and goes; to maintain currency; and prepared for my final landing to grab a bite to eat. I performed a wheel landing at approximately 500' from the approach end of the runway on the center line. As the airspeed bled off; I slowly lowered the tail and corrected for the normal turning tendencies. Suddenly and quite unexpectedly the aircraft began a hard-left turn. I was quite surprised and immediately tried to straighten it out. Attempting to avoid the approaching runway lights on the left side of the runway; I corrected hard to the right. The aircraft crossed the runway; as I attempted to bring it back under control. Everything would have been fine; but as the aircraft was straightening out we caught a runway light with the main gear. It immediately spun us around until we came to a stop on our left side with the left wingtip on the ground and the left wheel strut collapsed.since we were belted in and this all happened at a relatively low airspeed; we were unharmed and easily exited the aircraft.the next day after the shock of what happened wore off I conducted a post flight briefing with my passenger to try and determine the cause of events. Being very current as a pilot in this aircraft and having 29 landings in the last 30 days; I was unsure what caused this event. My passenger; hearing my frustration; shared with me what he observed in the back seat as we landed. Apparently; as I was rolling out; he attempted to turn in his seat to look out the window for the restaurant and may have pushed on either the left rudder or the left brake pedal.I strongly feel that if the airport had installed breakaway runway lights this would have been a minor incident with little damage.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Aeronca L3 pilot reported loss of directional control followed by a ground loop on the landing roll that could have been caused by his back seat passenger accidentally stepping on the left rudder pedal.
Narrative: My plan was to go flying with a friend; on what was a beautiful day with clear skies; unlimited visibility and calm surface winds. I checked the weather and NOTAMS; put on sufficient fuel for our flight and conducted a thorough pre-flight. When we arrived at [destination]; the winds were still calm and we were the only aircraft in the pattern for [the] runway.I conducted 3 to 4 touch and goes; to maintain currency; and prepared for my final landing to grab a bite to eat. I performed a wheel landing at approximately 500' from the approach end of the runway on the center line. As the airspeed bled off; I slowly lowered the tail and corrected for the normal turning tendencies. Suddenly and quite unexpectedly the aircraft began a hard-left turn. I was quite surprised and immediately tried to straighten it out. Attempting to avoid the approaching runway lights on the left side of the runway; I corrected hard to the right. The aircraft crossed the runway; as I attempted to bring it back under control. Everything would have been fine; but as the aircraft was straightening out we caught a runway light with the main gear. It immediately spun us around until we came to a stop on our left side with the left wingtip on the ground and the left wheel strut collapsed.Since we were belted in and this all happened at a relatively low airspeed; we were unharmed and easily exited the aircraft.The next day after the shock of what happened wore off I conducted a post flight briefing with my passenger to try and determine the cause of events. Being very current as a pilot in this aircraft and having 29 landings in the last 30 days; I was unsure what caused this event. My passenger; hearing my frustration; shared with me what he observed in the back seat as we landed. Apparently; as I was rolling out; he attempted to turn in his seat to look out the window for the restaurant and may have pushed on either the left rudder or the left brake pedal.I strongly feel that if the airport had installed breakaway runway lights this would have been a minor incident with little damage.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.