According to the pilot, during his approach at a non-towered airport in Big Bear, California, at night, he made the descent to what he thought was the runway, but realized it was actually the taxiway. He “slipped” right to what he perceived to be the runway.
Upon Tailwind W8 ground looped and nosed over.
The pilot had landed and nosed over in the safety area to the left of the runway.
The pilot reported he had been flying for the preceding 12 hours and conceded to having exceeded his personal endurance limitations.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings.
The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airplane prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadvertent landing off the left side of the snow-covered runway, resulting in a ground loop and nose over.
NTSB Identification: GAA16CA121
This January 2016 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.
It’s too bad that the pilot didn’t recognize his level of fatigue BEFORE the accident. In the NTSB Form 6120.1 used to report his version of the accident he was brutally honest: “I exceeded my endurance” then mistook a snow covered runway clear zone for the runway itself. He also admitted he should have spent the night at his last stop… several flight hours before the accident. Many of us learn from our bad decisions (like continuing on despite numbing fatigue). For some it takes more than a ‘near miss’ to drive home the lesson. His formerly beautiful ride that he built with his own sweat equity is junk now. It’s a tough way to learn a lesson. I’m glad he survived unscathed. Too bad a lot of our pilot friends may yet have to learn this lesson through personal experience.
A night landing at a mountain airport after 12 hours of flying is already wrong. Add to that the attempt to save the landing and you get what you get. He was lucky it didn’t turn out worse.