The pilot reported that while rolling out about 30 to 40 mph in the tailwheel equipped airplane for the full stop landing in San Luis Obispo, California, the Waco YMF F5C made a sudden stop and nosed over.
The plane sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage and tail section during the landing.
The passenger reported in a written statement that he accidentally applied the brakes during the landing roll.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the accidental application of the brakes by the passenger during landing, which resulted in the airplane nosing over.
NTSB Identification: WPR15CA074
This January 2015 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
This reminds me of a funny incident (no accident, just sort of funny) from a couple years ago. My wife and I were flying with a friend who owned the plane and he and his wife went to check something at one of our stops, So he asked me to fuel it up while he was gone. So I pushed the plane up to the pump and while were filling another plane pulled up pretty close behind us. When I was done, I instructed my wife on how to apply the rudder so the plane would turn away form the other plane while I pushed us out. And for the life of me I could NOT figure out why the plane was suddenly so darned hard to push when we were on level ground. Then after a minute or so of this (and feeling very self-conscious about being such a weakling in front of the other pilot) it finally clicked that I had not explained to my wife that pushing on the top edge of the rudder pedal applies the brake! D’oh. It went much quicker once I shared that bit of information. Anyway, it was a small thing, but it does serve to illustrate the importance of proper preflight instruction to passengers!
The passenger admitted he perhaps hit the brakes while distracted and distracting the pilot with conversation about lunch. From the docket: “…I accidentally hit the brakes when he was landing the plane and it just felt like slow-motion right over the top landing on its back. I was talking about the location of the restaurant and I think I was a big cause of this…” Photos of the accident aircraft on its back also show that it was just entering an area of perhaps crusted snow. From my own past experience, crusted snow (even if less than an inch… which appears to be the case here) can cause a sudden resistance to rolling aircraft either during a runway operation or during taxi. Perhaps a ‘Sterile Cockpit’ would have helped avoid this, and maybe a very specific pre-flight briefing for passenger(s) about avoiding any of the controls – especially during taxi, takeoff, landings, or maneuvers.
The “specific” briefing about staying clear of the controls is something I do. I make special emphasis on keeping feet away from the pedals as with my heel brakes there are four pedals that the passenger must be aware off. It also has been a surprise to them that the control stick and pedals move in there cockpit as I am manipulating the controls. Things we can take for granted are often foreign to new passengers in a light plane.