NTSB ERA21LA231 — 2021-05-24 · Skaneateles, New York, United States

Current FAA registration · N1331K

Make / Model: LUSCOMBE 8A
Engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19560512
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A088DB

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1331K Luscombe 8A Minor

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll which resulted in a runway excursion and nose-over event.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped stated that he felt that he lacked rudder authority during the takeoff roll which caused him to lose directional control. The airplane departed the left side of the runway surface and subsequently nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and right wing. A postaccident examination of the airplane’s rudder control system revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures 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-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ERA21LA231.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.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers