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CHI93LA349

1993-09-03 · DELEVAN, Wisconsin, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport C59

Current FAA registration · N55501

Make / Model
BOEING A75N1(PT17)
Year of manufacture
1943 · 50 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR W670 SERIES (250 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19930414
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A71470

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the excessive use of brakes and rudder by the pilot-in-command. A factor related to the accident was the pilot-in-command's lack of total experience in this type of aircraft.

Factual narrative

On September 3, 1993, at 1330 central daylight time (CDT), a Boeing/Stearman A75N1, N55501, registered to Jay Brost of Fontana, Wisconsin, and piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a landing roll following touchdown onto Runway 36 (4,400 x 75' dry asphalt) at the Lake Lawn Airport, Delevan, Wisconsin. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating under a flight plan. The flight originated from Harvard, Illinois, at 1300 CDT. Written statements on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 submitted by both pilots state that the airplane had encountered a crosswind requiring rudder application. The pilot-in-command, in the rear seat, applied brake application "...excessively...", or "...hard...", instead of rudder control according to the front seat pilot/passenger. The pilot/passenger stated that airplane began to weather vane as the tailwheel was lowering, and that the "...PIC acted with hard rudder/brake which caused a/c to go over (on) its nose." The on-scene investigation was conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration Principal Operations Inspector (POI). The POI stated the vertical stabilizer and rudder were crushed downward, and that the top wing of the airplane had rib and covering damage on its upper surface. THE VINTAGE TAILWHEEL AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN ON RUNWAY 36 WITH A CROSSWIND. ACCORDING TO THE FRONT SEAT PILOT/PASSENGER, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO WEATHER VANE AS THE TAILWHEEL TOUCHED DOWN AT WHICH TIME THE REAR SEAT PILOT MADE HARD RUDDER AND BRAKE INPUTS. THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER, DAMAGING THE VERTICAL STABILIZER AND RUDDER AND THE TOP WING'S UPPER SURFACE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_CHI93LA349.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.