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CEN14CA404

2014-07-31 · Traverse City, Michigan, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TVC

Current FAA registration · N8461D

Make / Model
PIPER PA-18
Year of manufacture
1957 · 57 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR C90 SERIES (95 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19571028
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB98A2

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of directional control during landing, resulting in a runway excursion and the airplane nosing over.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that the tailwheel equipped airplane "pulled left" during landing and he was unable to correct in time to prevent a runway excursion. He noted that he should not have used the brakes when he realized that the airplane was going off the runway, which might have prevented the airplane from nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and right elevator. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions related to the airplane before the accident. He reported a left quartering headwind at 13 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that the tailwheel equipped airplane "pulled left" during landing and he was unable to correct in time to prevent a runway excursion. He noted that he should not have used the brakes when he realized that the airplane was going off the runway, which might have prevented the airplane from nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and right elevator. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions related to the airplane before the accident. He reported a left quartering headwind at 13 knots at the time of the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Surface speed/braking-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_CEN14CA404.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers