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CEN20CA206

2020-05-31 · Worthington, Minnesota, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OTG

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's excessive brake application during the landing roll to avoid an animal on the runway, which resulted in a ground loop.

Factual narrative

The pilot was landing the tailwheel-equipped airplane with a gusting, left quartering headwind. He stated that during the landing roll, he saw a fox run across the runway in front of the airplane, so he applied hard pressure to the brakes. He added that the tailwheel spun around, the airplane violently twisted to the left, and the right main landing gear bent under the airplane. He taxied the airplane to the ramp with difficulty. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing immediately above the landing gear. The right tailwheel chain was broken. There was no evidence of an animal strike on the airplane and there was no carcass found on the runway.  Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN20CA206.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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