Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / ERA10CA225

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA10CA225

2010-04-10 Lakeland, Florida, United States Airport · LAL None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N1128K

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

LUSCOMBE 8A

Year of manufacture

1946 · 64 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19560808

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A0371B

Registrant of record

MITCHELL PETER J

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, resulting in a ground loop.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported during the landing roll, the tailwheel airplane "moved left." He added power and attempted to go around, but was "not able to get aloft." The airplane exited the paved surface and ground-looped to the left. The runway measured 8,500 feet long and 150 feet wide, and was dry at the time of the event. The pilot reported he had approximately 1,000 total hours of flight experience, including 100 hours in the accident airplane make and model. He stated he did not know whether there were any mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not observe any mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. The weather observation taken at the accident airport 10 minutes after the accident included calm winds. The pilot reported that during the landing roll the tailwheel-equipped airplane "moved left." He added power and attempted to go around, but was "not able to get aloft." The airplane exited the paved surface and ground-looped to the left. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not observe any mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. The weather observation taken at the accident airport 10 minutes after the accident included calm winds. 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 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_2010_ERA10CA225.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.