North American AT-6G N8399H

Summary

On 5 July 1998 at about 16:50 local time, a North American AT-6G registered N8399H was involved in an accident near Longmont, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 July 1998 at 16:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Longmont, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Vance Brand Airport (2V2)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

North American AT-6G

Registration

N8399H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA298

Nobody was injured.

The partial failure of the tail wheel steering system due to improper maintenance and the subsequent inadvertent ground loop during the landing sequence. Factors were the airport taxiway sign and the subsequent failure of the left main landing gear.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was given airport advisories on unicom. He was told that the active runway was 29 and that the wind was 'light and variable.' He said that the 'windsock's movement was hardly perceptible and the velocity of the indicator indicated less than 5 knots.' The pilot reported that after touchdown, 'the aircraft's rollout path took multiple, short, quick inputs from the rudder to keep properly aligned with the runway centerline as the aircraft proceeded down the runway.' He further reported the rudder inputs became ineffective after approximately 400 to 500 feet of landing roll and the aircraft exited the right side of the runway. The aircraft subsequently impacted an airport taxiway sign, damaging the left main landing gear and the left wing. The aircraft came to rest with its nose down. The pilot said that the tail wheel steering cables had recently been replaced. Postaccident evaluation of the tail wheel steering cables by maintenance personnel found a tension of 5 pounds on these cables; 20 pounds is considered normal.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.