The private pilot was conducting a cross-country flight and decided to stop at an intermediate airport in Princeton, Minnesota, to refuel the Vans RV-7A.
When the plane touched down, it swerved left, exited the side of the runway, hit a runway edge light, and then nosed over in soft terrain. The two people aboard the airplane were seriously injured in the crash.
Examination of the runway revealed that a long black line, which extended from the centerline to where the runway edge light was struck, was imprinted in the pavement. It is likely that the imprint was created by the chine that was pronounced on both sides of the tire.
These ground signatures indicate that the nosewheel tire was likely flat upon touchdown, which led to the pilot’s inability to maintain directional control upon landing.
Probable cause: A flat nosewheel tire, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to maintain directional control on landing.
NTSB Identification: CEN18LA295
This July 2018 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.
I have to admit I’ve never flown a RV. What I don’t understand, however, is why many pilots don’t keep their nose wheel up. My flight instructor always used to say that nose wheels are steering wheels, only. To use them as a landing wheel is asking for trouble. Why, the hell, don’t pilots keep the nose wheel up? The only reasons for putting a nose wheel down is if runway is slippery, there’s crosswind, or one of the mains is dragging. It will come down early enough once the rudder and elevator is losing effectiveness.
In a taildragger your landing is finished when the aircraft is parked on the ramp. Many pilots flying a tri-gear airplane drop their nose wheel right after the mains have touched down and consider the job done. It is too easy to say the aircraft is poorly designed. Sometimes it may be a lack of qualification for a particular aircraft make and model.
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. The degradation of flight training is a major contributor. Too much emphasis on aerodynamics, avionics, and automation and not enough training on basic pilot technique.
Bonjour:
In my time I have seen quite a few ‘nose overs’ and even more ‘almost—-but not quite’: In most cases it wasn’t really the pilots fault—-think engine failure and recently ploughed field:
When I read this article I immediately concluded the pilot forgot to flare (not limited to the young and inexperienced)—-bursting the tire on contact—-probably smashing the spat, if fitted—-which may have jammed on one or other side of the nose leg—-rendering the aeroplane unsteerable: Anyway, by the time most pilots would figure out what was going on, the aeroplane would already be on its back:
Reckon the NTSB got half of it right:
Bonne Journee, Myles:
A flat nose wheel tire leading to an accident with injuries is not “Equipment Failure”. It’s “Pilot Failure”, plain and simple.
It’s obvious that Roger has never flown a RV-A airplane. The nose gear is susceptible to causing a “flip over“ with the slightest interference. The reaction time to an unknown flat nose tire may not have been enough to keep the airplane on the runway. It may be the biggest short coming to the Vans design.
“The nose gear is susceptible to causing a “flip over“ with the slightest interference.”
Except here we have a landing on asphalt. This shouldn’t lead to a loss of control, even factoring in the flat. The coup de grâce was the faulty landing gear design. Sounds like an unsafe airplane, in the wrong hands.
Obviously, you are not reading the same article. The airplane flipped in the soft dirt…..not on runway. Never mind…Your post indicates that you’re not a pilot.
Good grief man, what’s wrong with you? OK I’ll explain it for you again..
1. He landed on asphalt, with a flat nose tire.
2. Somehow this caused him to lose so much directional control, he left the asphalt and headed off the runway into the dirt.
3.The nose gear on the tri-gear RV has a history of digging in and folding up under the airplane, if it’s operated on soft, rough terrain, at high speed.
4. Unfortunately, that is what happened here and the airplane flipped end-over-end.
My point was, a flat nose tire should not have led to the loss of directional control in the first place. If he would have at least kept in on the asphalt, the gear most likely would not have collapsed.
Got it now?
BTW, I’ve been flying most of my life. I started flying when I was 14 – over 45 years ago. I have about 1200 hours in the RV-4.
Sorry Roger, you just encountered today’s social mindset.
It is the,
“It’s not my fault”, “it must be a bad design” , “we need to protect everybody” Culture
You don’t have a flat tire in flight unless it was flat or near flat on takeoff. The pilot’s failure to check tire pressure the culprit.
The tri-gear RV is a mess. It’s has a poorly designed nose gear that can get caught on soft terrain, collapse backward under the airplane, turn into a plow, and flip the airplane over end-over-end. This is known, well documented design flaw. Nevertheless, pilot’s will choose this over spending a little time to get a tail wheel endorsement. Why they do that is one of life’s greatest mysteries.