NTSB CHI82DA360 — 1982-09-19 · DANVILLE, Illinois, United States

Current FAA registration · N51H

Make / Model: NAVAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY N3N-3
Year of manufacture: 1941 · 41 years old at event
Engine: WRIGHT 760A B D E&ET (250 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19711208
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A65FC5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N51H NAVY N3N-3 None

Factual narrative

UPON ARRIVING AT AN AIR SHOW THE PLT WAS GIVEN ADVISORIES FOR A DOWNWIND LANDING. THE ACFT SUBSEQUENTLY GROUND-LOOPED. SUBSEQUENT INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE TAILWHEEL LOCK HAD ALSO MALFUNCTIONED. THE CENTERING SPRING WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO CONSISTENTLY CENTER THE TAILWHEEL POST SO THAT THE LOCK PIN COULD ENTER. IN ADDITION, THE COMPRESSION SPRING WAS TOO WEAK TO FORCE THE LOCK PIN INTO PLACE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1982_CHI82DA360.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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