The tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-12 veered to the left during the landing roll at the airport in Rangeley, Maine, and nosed over when the pilot attempted to correct by using the airplane’s brakes.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing, while the pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries in the crash.
After the accident, the right tailwheel spring was found disconnected.
Subsequent inspection of the right tailwheel spring revealed tooling marks and that the attachment loop had been closed back towards its original radius.
When asked about the tooling marks on the separated spring, the pilot/owner suggested they may have occurred during a previous annual inspection or “when it fell off a few years ago when I had a bad tailwheel shimmy.”
At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing on Runway 32 with wind from 250° at 5 knots.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll with a crosswind, after the right tailwheel spring separated.
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.
Beautiful Cub! Hopefully repairable.
Light differential brakes may have worked. But things happen fast in that kind of situation 😱