The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that he made a normal landing approach to the runway at the airport in Harrison, Ohio, with a direct crosswind of 15 knots and gusts reaching 23 knots.
He was initially able to maintain directional control with normal flight control inputs after the Van’s RV-8 touched down on the main landing gear, however when the tailwheel touched down the tail began to weathervane and then veered to the right.
The pilot was unable to regain directional control with an application of full left rudder and left brake before the airplane departed the right side of the runway and hit a precision approach path indicator lights (PAPI) system.
The left wing, left horizontal stabilizer, and left elevator were substantially damaged during the collision with the PAPI system.
A post-accident examination and functional test of the steerable tailwheel revealed that the spring-actuated key slide would stick in the retracted position within the tailwheel fork, which allowed the tailwheel to caster instead being steerable within the normal limits intended for takeoff and landing.
Additional examination revealed that the slot in the tailwheel fork that held the spring-actuated key slide was slightly deformed, and that the key had several raised edges that caused the key to bind when fully retracted in the slot.
It is likely that the tailwheel was able to caster during landing, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to maintain directional control after the tailwheel had touched down during landing roll.
Probable Cause: The malfunction of the steerable tailwheel, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the landing roll and subsequent impact with the precision approach path indicator lights system.
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This March 2020 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’ve got 500+ hours in an RV8……whoever thinks a 100mph whhellanding in those conditions is either safe or required probably hasn’t ever flown the plane. OTOH, I got rid of the vans pos tailwheel long ago.
I suspect improper use of rudder and brake pedals was a contributing factor in this accident
Yep
Here’s a scenario for fellow tail draggers to ponder. You have…
– “Direct crosswind” gusting to 23 knots…which you’ve never experienced before in this plane.
– Runway is 2800’ x 60’
– Final approach speed is 100 mph with full flaps (I believe 40-degrees in a RV-8?).
– Side-slip to a wheel landing, w/touchdown speed of @ 86-92 mph.
– At what speed do you bury the stick in your lap & expect the “steerable” tailwheel to be effective in maintaining directional control?
– P.S: You’ve already tried the brakes.
The End Result:
“Probable Cause: The malfunction of the steerable tailwheel, which resulted in a loss of directional control.”
Convenient?
Was this a Lang tailwheel?