Event CEN20CA027

Factual narrative

The private pilot landed the tailwheel equipped airplane on a harvested farm field near his father's house. He said that the landing was made to an area that he had walked the day before. When he attempted to takeoff, in a different location than the previous landing, he encountered high wheel resistance due to the soft wet ground and aborted the takeoff. The pilot stated that he had not walked or inspected the area where this takeoff attempt was conducted. While attempting to taxi to the previous landing location, dirt and mud collected on the landing gear between the main landing gear leg and the tire causing the wheel to lock up as if the brakes had been applied. The pilot attempted to reduce engine power but the airplane slowly nosed over resulting in damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical tail. In a telephone conversation the pilot he confirmed that there was no mechanical failure of the braking system and that the tires stopped rotating due to the dirt and mud between the gear leg and the tire/wheel. The pilot stated that he landed the airplane on a harvested field in an area that he had walked the day before. When he attempted to take off from a different location than the previous landing, the airplane encountered high wheel resistance due to the soft, wet ground, and he aborted the takeoff. The pilot stated that he had not walked or inspected the area where the takeoff attempt was conducted. While attempting to taxi to the previous landing location, dirt and mud collected on the main landing gear (MLG) between the MLG leg and the tire, which caused the wheel to lock up as if the brakes had been applied. The pilot attempted to reduce engine power, but the airplane slowly nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical tail. The pilot reported that there was no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions of the braking system and that the tires stopped rotating due to the dirt and mud between the MLG leg and the tire. 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 Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Effect on operation - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Decision related to condition - C