Piper PA-12 N3910M

Summary

On 27 October 2023 at about 18:30 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N3910M was involved in an accident near Rangeley, Maine, 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

27 October 2023 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Rangeley, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Stephen A Bean Muni (8B0)

Coordinates

44.9926, -70.6600

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N3910M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Norridgewock → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA024

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll with a crosswind, after the right tailwheel spring separated.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The tailwheel equipped airplane veered to the left during the landing roll and nosed over when the pilot attempted to correct by utilizing the airplane’s brakes. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The right tailwheel spring was found disconnected. Subsequent inspection of the right tail-wheel 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 the airplane on runway 32 with wind from 250° at 5 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.