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ERA20CA279

2020-08-07 · Modena, New York, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 2NK9

Current FAA registration · N811RD

Make / Model
DAKOTA CUB AIRCRAFT INC S18-160
Year of manufacture
2019 · 1 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING YO-360 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20190905
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB0E8E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The passenger's inadvertent application of the rear brakes during landing, which resulted in a nose-over.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he was landing after a local flight with a passenger seated in the rear seat of the tail-wheel equipped airplane. During touchdown the airplane started to nose over, and the pilot realized that the passenger had his feet on the brakes. He yelled at the passenger to get his feet off the brakes, but it was too late to prevent the airplane from nosing over. The airplane flipped over inverted and came to a complete stop. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the vertical stabilizer was buckled. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. According to the pilot, he was landing after a local flight with a passenger seated in the rear seat of the tail-wheel equipped airplane. During touchdown the airplane started to nose over, and the pilot realized that the passenger had his feet on the brakes. He yelled at the passenger to get his feet off the brakes, but it was too late to prevent the airplane from nosing over. The airplane flipped over inverted and came to a complete stop. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the vertical stabilizer was buckled. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Passenger
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Brake-Unintentional use/operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA279.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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