Luscombe 8E N1614K

Summary

On 16 August 2003 at about 17:20 local time, a Luscombe 8E registered N1614K 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

16 August 2003 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Longmont, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Vance Brand (2V2)

Coordinates

40.1636, -105.1631

Aircraft

Luscombe 8E

Registration

N1614K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Longmont → Longmont

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN03LA144

Nobody was injured.

Separation of the landing gear tire valve stem resulting in the left main tire deflating, and the pilot's inability to maintain aircraft control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he was practicing touch-and-go landings. He said that on a previous 2-point landing, "it felt like someone was pushing and releasing the brakes. It was not severe so [he] continued to takeoff speed and rotated." The next landing was a 3-point landing and "touchdown and rollout initially were fine." When he applied heel brakes, "the left wheel folded and started flapping" and the airplane yawed to the left. The pilot corrected with right rudder. The pilot said there was insufficient airflow to hold the tail down, and the nose and prop struck the ground. The airplane skidded approximately 10 feet on the nose before nosing over on the runway. Postaccident inspection by a mechanic revealed the left main tire was flat. He said the tire looked normal and "showed no protrusions." The mechanic said the valve stem was "torn from the tube with no indications of dry-rotting in the rubber or misalignment of the tube. There was a small hole, most likely caused by pinching during the rollout of the aircraft with the tube deflated."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.