NTSB DEN89LA201 — 1989-08-27 · WATKINS, Colorado, United States

Current FAA registration · N2369Q

Make / Model: WACO UPF-7
Year of manufacture: 1940 · 49 years old at event
Engine: P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780327
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A2226C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N2369Q Waco UPF7 None

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE LEFT BRAKE ASSEMBLY, AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF DIRECTIONAL CONTROL BY THE PILOT.

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS TAKING PART IN AN AIRSHOW WITH A PERSON STANDING ON THE LEFT WING. THE PLT SAID THAT WHEN BRAKES WERE APPLIED DURING LANDING ROLL, THE RIGHT BRAKE OPERATED PROPERLY, BUT THE LEFT BRAKE FAILED. THE PLANE THEN TURNED RIGHT AND DEPARTED THE RUNWAY, RESULTING IN A GROUND LOOP. THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE GROUND AND BOTH LEFT WINGS WERE BENT. THE PERSON, WHO WAS STANDING ON THE LEFT LOWER WING, WAS THROWN CLEAR. A POST-ACDNT EXAM REVEALED THAT 3 OF THE 4 BRAKE PADS WERE MISSING FROM THE LEFT BRAKE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_DEN89LA201.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.