Accident Piper PA-22-135 N3329A,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 352625
 
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Date:Tuesday 14 September 1999
Time:12:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic PA22 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Piper PA-22-135
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N3329A
MSN: 22-1604
Total airframe hrs:3908 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-290-D2
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Greeley, CO -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Larned, KS (KLQR)
Destination airport:(KGXY)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot said that he was landing on runway 35 with a right quartering tailwind of 6 knots. The landing appeared normal until about 40 to 45 knots when the airplane began drifting to the left of centerline. He said that he corrected the airplane back to the centerline, and then it suddenly ground looped to the right. The pilot said that there was a 3 to 4 inch high dirt berm along the side of the runway. He said that when his left main landing gear and tail wheel impacted this berm, they folded under the airplane. He further stated that the rubber skid marks on the runway indicated that the tail wheel was oscillating, or shimmying. The maintenance person who recovered the airplane said that the self-centering tail wheel locking device was 'well lubricated,' which is what the maintenance manual calls for. He said the aerial application pilots that fly airplanes with similar tail wheel self-centering devices always instruct him not to lubricate their self-centering devices when he performs maintenance on their aircraft. They told him that it was easier to land in a crosswind when their tail wheel self-centering devices were dry.

Probable Cause: The pilot's inadvertent ground loop during landing roll. Factors were the malfunctioning self centering locking device on the tail wheel, the right rear quartering tail wind, and the 3 to 4 inch high berm along the edge of the runway.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: DEN99LA162
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 2 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB DEN99LA162

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
08-Mar-2024 12:29 ASN Update Bot Added

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