Event CEN12LA369

Factual narrative

On June 8, 2012, at 1330 eastern daylight time, a Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR, N721R, sustained substantial damage when it lost directional control during landing at the Norwalk-Huron County Airport (5A1), Norwalk, Ohio. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered and operated by a private individual under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed Geauga County Airport (7G8), Middlefield, Ohio, at 1230. The pilot reported that the tailwheel equipped airplane was landing on runway 28 (4,210 feet by 75 feet, asphalt). He reported that the right brake "locked up" upon touchdown causing the airplane to veer off the runway. The airplane struck a 3-foot wide drainage ditch that was about 66 feet from the edge of the runway and ran parallel to the runway, which resulted in sustained substantial damage to the left wing. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the accident site. He reported that the runway skid marks and the wingtip scrape indicated that the right wheel was not on the ground until shortly before contacting the ditch. The inspector reported that the airplane had a very narrow wheel stance and limited forward visibility in the landing attitude. The right brake was tested at the brake manufacturer's facility with FAA oversight. The brake successfully passed the acceptance test procedure, and there was no visual indication of fluid leakage around the piston. The pilot had 997 total flight hours with 1 hour logged in the accident airplane. The accident flight was the first flight he had in the airplane, and it was his first landing in the accident airplane. At 1353, the surface weather observation at the Lorain County Regional Airport (LPR), Lorain, Ohio, located about 18 nautical miles east of 5A1, was: wind 320 degrees at 9 knots; 10 miles visibility; sky clear; temperature 26 degrees Celsius; dew point 7 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.05 inches of mercury. The pilot reported that, upon touchdown, the tailwheel-equipped airplane's right brake "locked up" and the airplane then veered off the right side of the runway. The airplane struck a 3-foot-wide drainage ditch about 66 feet from the edge of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The examination of the accident site revealed runway skid marks and a wingtip scrape, which indicated that the right wheel was not on the ground until shortly before it contacted the ditch. The right brake successfully passed the acceptance test procedure with no visual indication of fluid leakage around the piston. The pilot had 997 total flight hours with 1 hour logged in the accident airplane. The accident flight was the first flight he had in the airplane, and it was his first landing in the accident airplane. The surface weather observation at an airport located about 18 nautical miles from the accident site indicated the wind was 320 degrees at 9 knots. The airplane landed on the runway at 280 degrees, which indicates that a 6-knot crosswind existed at the time of the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience w/ equipment-Pilot
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Contributed to outcome
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C