 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Experienced pilot with low time in tail draggers attempted to land in strong crosswind and winds up in the bushes.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 838468 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200906 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | M-7 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 740 Flight Crew Type 18 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Excursion Runway Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
The purpose of this flight was simply to get a hamburger. It was a good day for flying meteorologically speaking great visibility and unrestricted ceilings. I knew that my destination would have a crosswind condition. As I reached traffic pattern altitude at my destination; I saw a pretty strong crosswind due to the windsock being almost fully extended and wind streaks in the tower. Ironically while in the pattern my instinct; logic and common sense were telling me to turn around and go home. On short final for runway 15 I had one last change to go around or leave the airpark completely. Persisting; I touched down just ahead of the numbers and as soon as my wheels touched down; the airplane ground looped and I lost control. I did my best to try to regain control of the plane but it was too late I went into the bushes. Luckily the airplane only sustained minor damage and myself and passenger were not injured. Being a fresh tail dragger pilot and only having about 18 hours total time in any tail dragger; I was completely out of my element and should not have attempted landing there. The maximum demonstrated crosswind component on this aircraft is 12 KTS the wind was 10 KTS if not more. There is no reason why I should have landed there let alone with a passenger in the plane. I should have used better judgment.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Experienced pilot with low time in tail draggers attempted to land in strong crosswind and winds up in the bushes.
Narrative: The purpose of this flight was simply to get a hamburger. It was a good day for flying meteorologically speaking great visibility and unrestricted ceilings. I knew that my destination would have a crosswind condition. As I reached traffic pattern altitude at my destination; I saw a pretty strong crosswind due to the windsock being almost fully extended and wind streaks in the Tower. Ironically while in the pattern my instinct; logic and common sense were telling me to turn around and go home. On short final for Runway 15 I had one last change to go around or leave the airpark completely. Persisting; I touched down just ahead of the numbers and as soon as my wheels touched down; the airplane ground looped and I lost control. I did my best to try to regain control of the plane but it was too late I went into the bushes. Luckily the airplane only sustained minor damage and myself and passenger were not injured. Being a fresh tail dragger pilot and only having about 18 hours total time in any tail dragger; I was completely out of my element and should not have attempted landing there. The maximum demonstrated crosswind component on this aircraft is 12 KTS the wind was 10 KTS if not more. There is no reason why I should have landed there let alone with a passenger in the plane. I should have used better judgment.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.