Piper PA-22-150 N3915P

Summary

On 12 May 2024 at about 16:50 local time, a Piper PA-22-150 registered N3915P was involved in an accident near Emmett, Idaho, 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

12 May 2024 at 16:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Emmett, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Emmett Municipal Airport (S78)

Coordinates

43.8527, -116.5391

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-150

Registration

N3915P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1956

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nampa → Emmett

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA147

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of directional control during landing roll due to a loose tailwheel leaf spring assembly.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that the wind was calm when the pilot receiving instruction performed a 3-point landing in the tailwheel equipped airplane. During the landing roll, the tailwheel began to shimmy. The pilot was able to raise the tail momentarily in an attempt to stop the shimmy before it settled back onto the runway. The tailwheel continued to shimmy, and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot attempted to correct with right rudder and brake input. The airplane began to correct to the right towards the runway centerline, however, the right turn continued to accelerate, despite the pilot and flight instructor’s left rudder inputs. Subsequently, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing was substantially damaged when it impacted the ground. Post accident examination of the airplane determined that the tailwheel leaf spring assembly was loose. Corrosion was observed on the left main landing gear attach points. It is likely the loose tailwheel spring assembly was preexisting and caused the tailwheel shimmy and contributed to the loss of directional control and the subsequent landing gear failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.