CEN19LA013

Factual narrative

On October 24, 2018, at 1015 eastern daylight time, an experimental Sorrell SNS-7, N8053Q, veered off runway 26 at Middletown Regional Airport (MWO), Middletown, Ohio, and impacted terrain during landing rollout. The private pilot and a flight instructor were uninjured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight originated from MWO at 1000. The pilot, who was the airplane owner and performed maintenance on the airplane, stated the during landing rollout of the tailwheel equipped airplane on runway 26 (3,040 feet x 297 feet, turf), he applied the wheel brakes and the left brake "locked up." He attempted to keep the airplane going straight but the airplane kept going left. The right main landing gear hit a hole breaking off the right main landing gear. The airplane came to a sudden stop and the right wing struck the ground. The propeller struck the ground, and the engine kept running. The flight instructor stated they made a brief flight in the traffic pattern and then landed "normally." During landing rollout, the airplane traveled straight for most of the deceleration. The pilot applied brakes to further slow the airplane, and the airplane began a turn to the left. The instructor attempted corrective input using right rudder, but it was insufficient to correct the rollout path. The flight instructor could not correct using brakes because his rudder pedals were not equipped with brakes. Just prior to stopping, the right main landing gear wheel encountered a small hole, which caused the right main gear to fail. The National Transportation Safety Board Investigator-in-Charge requested that the Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Cincinnati Flight Standards District Office perform a post-accident examination of the airplane, but an examination was not performed to determine if there was a mechanical malfunction with the airplane. The pilot was receiving instruction in the experimental, tailwheel-equipped airplane. The flight instructor indicated they flew in the traffic pattern and then landed "normally." The pilot stated that, during the landing rollout, he applied the wheel brakes and the left brake "locked up." He attempted to keep the airplane straight, but it kept veering left. The flight instructor was unable to regain directional control after using corrective rudder control input; the airplane was not equipped with landing gear brakes at the flight instructor's seat position. The right main landing gear broke off when it hit a small hole, and the right wing struck the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane was not performed; thus, it could not be determined whether there was a mechanical malfunction of the brake system. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C