The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped Zlin SRO Savage told investigators that he was distracted by a sick passenger during the landing at the airport in Fairfield, Utah.
He lost control of the airplane on the landing rollout, and the airplane ground looped.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and aileron.
The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during the landing, which resulted in a ground loop.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This October 2023 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.
Exercise discipline in your piloting. The pilots’ most important job is to FLY THE PLANE. Its his priority. Cleanup comes after landing.
“Ground Loop” ==> That’ll teach pax not to get sick aboard any aircraft!!!
“Pilot crashes while distracted by sick passenger”!
“crashes”…really?
I mean no disrespect towards the NTSB and the incredibly important work they do in analyzing aviation accidents. But I wonder if maybe the bar is set a bit too low when it comes to defining what constitutes “Occurrences Requiring Notification”?
How much effort went in to determining the “Probable Cause and Findings” for this one? And…to what end? Are there any valuable “lessons learned” here for the rest of us?
In this case, an experienced pilot groundlooped a Super Cub clone because he got distracted by a puking teenager in the back seat. The threshold for NTSB notification was the “substantial damage” to the left wing & aileron.
I’m pretty sure the ATP-rated PIC won’t make the same mistake again. Personally, I giggled when I read his barely-legible, hand-scribbled “Narrative History of the Flight”.
Given our budget-constrained world, I’m betting the NTSB “Investigator In Charge”, and the FAA’s “Additional Participating Person” assigned to this case, could’ve used their time and expertise on more important issues …like helping solve mysteries resulting from real “crashes” in a timely manner.
The barf-bag briefing – explain, demonstrate how to use and secure, provide within sight and easy reach for each passenger to use in a split second without distracting the pilot. Sooner or later, this will be on your passenger briefing checklist.