Champion 7KCAB N5068X

Summary

On 3 June 2023 at about 17:00 local time, a Champion 7KCAB registered N5068X was involved in an accident near Rutherfordton, North Carolina, 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

3 June 2023 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Rutherfordton, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Rutherford County/Marchman Fld (FQD)

Coordinates

35.4271, -81.9351

Aircraft

Champion 7KCAB

Registration

N5068X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA230

Nobody was injured.

The disengagement of the tailwheel locking mechanism during the landing roll which resulted in a loss of directional control during landing with a crosswind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported he was performing a 3-point landing with a right 90° crosswind. During the landing, the tailwheel began to "shimmy." The pilot applied forward control stick pressure to reduce weight on the tailwheel and attempt to alleviate the shimmy but did not have enough airspeed to lift the tail and correct the shimmy. The pilot reported that as airspeed decayed, he applied full “aft stick” and full left rudder, but the airplane continued to drift to the right. In an attempt to prevent a runway excursion, the pilot applied the wheel brakes and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and damage to the propeller, spinner and cowling. The pilot reported that postaccident examination of the tailwheel locking mechanism revealed that it was worn and would not lock to the right. Loose tail wheel attachment hardware was also noted. The condition of the tailwheel should have been checked during the last annual inspection; however, it is possible that the locking mechanism could have worn further during the 7 months between the most recent inspection and the accident flight. At the time of the accident the airplane was landing on runway 01 with wind 060° at 8 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.