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GAA19CA408

2019-07-12 · Hamilton, Montana, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 6S5

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of directional control due to his unintentional use of brakes instead of the rudder during the landing roll, which resulted in a nose-over.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, upon landing and approaching the taxiway he intended to exit, he lifted his feet from the "rudderbars" to engage the brakes. The airplane abruptly entered into a left turn and he "jabbed at the right rudder," but mistakenly utilized brake pedal. The airplane immediately nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airport's automated weather observation station reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 010° at 6 knots. The airplane was landing on runway 34. The pilot reported that he believes the accident could have been avoided "if [he] had kept [his] feet on the rudderbars until [he] had exited the runway." The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, upon landing and approaching the taxiway he intended to exit, he lifted his feet from the "rudderbars" to engage the brakes. The airplane abruptly entered a left turn, and he thought he used the right rudder, but he mistakenly used brake pedal. Immediately thereafter, the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he believes the accident could have been avoided "if [he] had kept [his] feet on the rudderbars until [the airplane] had exited the runway." Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Brake-Unintentional use/operation - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2019_GAA19CA408.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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