M C Thomas THORPE T-18 N778T

Summary

On 28 April 2006 at about 02:30 local time, a M C Thomas THORPE T-18 registered N778T was involved in an accident near Reno, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 April 2006 at 02:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Reno, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Reno-Stead (4SD)

Coordinates

39.6672, -119.8761

Aircraft

M C Thomas THORPE T-18

Registration

N778T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06CA149

2 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control. A contributing factor was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane veered off the runway during landing and nosed over after encountering soft sand. The pilot had recently purchased the airplane, and this was his third instructional flight. The main purpose of this flight was to work on directional control of the airplane. The pilot and his flight instructor departed on runway 08, with a crosswind from 160 degrees at 3 to 4 miles per hour (mph), for work in the traffic pattern. During the second landing, the pilot landed to the left of the centerline. As the tail wheel settled onto the runway, the airplane veered to the left. He increased the throttle, and applied right rudder. The airplane did not seem to respond, so he applied the brakes. It veered hard to the left and went off the runway into soft sand and sagebrush and nosed over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.