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While instructing a new aircraft owner in conventional landing gear takeoff techniques the student and instructor combined to over-rotate when lifting the tail causing the prop to strike the ground and the aircraft to roll over onto its back. Witnesses suggested the possibility a 'tail wind' gust at about the time of rotation may have contributed to the event.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 962136 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201107 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Experimental |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 103 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10 Flight Crew Total 7000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
The incident occurred at a 2300 foot grass strip. I; as instructor; was in the right seat of the aircraft. The owner; a 300 hour instrument rated single engine pilot who had been inactive for about ten years; was in the left seat. He had just bought the aircraft; a rans S-6S experimental; amateur built airplane. We had discussed the need to have positive rudder control before rotating the tail wheel off of the ground thus relinquishing longitudinal control via the tailwheel. We also discussed the placement of feet on the brakes of the aircraft; which in this instance required that the feet be placed in braking position on the rudder pedals; with a subsequent additional forward pressure to apply the brakes. He initiated a take off roll on the runway and rotated the tail upward by pushing forward on the stick at about twenty to twenty five miles per hour--but he didn't put enough forward pressure on the stick and we were in a slightly nose high attitude; so I assisted him by pushing forward on the stick. The aircraft was then in a normal level position for take-off. We were accelerating down the runway when the prop struck the turf and we flipped over forward; the aircraft coming to rest on its back. This occurred about sixty yards into the takeoff roll; at a speed I estimate to be about 35 mph. I was told by attending airport personnel that they had felt a strong gust; which would have been a tailwind to us; as they were approaching the aircraft. The windsock; located midfield and south of the runway at a height of approximately twenty to thirty feet; indicated a wind directly down the runway. About twenty minutes after the crash; the wind was blowing from the north north east at an estimated ten to fifteen knots.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: While instructing a new aircraft owner in conventional landing gear takeoff techniques the Student and Instructor combined to over-rotate when lifting the tail causing the prop to strike the ground and the aircraft to roll over onto its back. Witnesses suggested the possibility a 'tail wind' gust at about the time of rotation may have contributed to the event.
Narrative: The incident occurred at a 2300 foot grass strip. I; as instructor; was in the right seat of the aircraft. The owner; a 300 hour instrument rated single engine pilot who had been inactive for about ten years; was in the left seat. He had just bought the aircraft; a RANS S-6S Experimental; Amateur built airplane. We had discussed the need to have positive rudder control before rotating the tail wheel off of the ground thus relinquishing longitudinal control via the tailwheel. We also discussed the placement of feet on the brakes of the aircraft; which in this instance required that the feet be placed in braking position on the rudder pedals; with a subsequent additional forward pressure to apply the brakes. He initiated a take off roll on the runway and rotated the tail upward by pushing forward on the stick at about twenty to twenty five miles per hour--but he didn't put enough forward pressure on the stick and we were in a slightly nose high attitude; so I assisted him by pushing forward on the stick. The aircraft was then in a normal level position for take-off. We were accelerating down the runway when the prop struck the turf and we flipped over forward; the aircraft coming to rest on its back. This occurred about sixty yards into the takeoff roll; at a speed I estimate to be about 35 mph. I was told by attending airport personnel that they had felt a strong gust; which would have been a tailwind to us; as they were approaching the aircraft. The windsock; located midfield and south of the runway at a height of approximately twenty to thirty feet; indicated a wind directly down the runway. About twenty minutes after the crash; the wind was blowing from the north north east at an estimated ten to fifteen knots.
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.