Event SEA99LA163

Factual narrative

On September 11, 1999, at 1201 Pacific daylight time, a Stinson V77, N69386, registered to and being flown by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when the aircraft nosed over on landing at the Tacoma Narrows airport, Tacoma, Washington. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was personal in nature, was to have been operated under 14CFR91, and originated from Hoqiuam, Washington, approximately 1115 on the morning of the accident. The pilot reported in a written statement (NTSB Form 6120.1/2 attached) that the "approach was stabilized, normal and controlled. [The] main wheels touched down approximately 300 ft from the end of [the] runway [runway 35]. [The] rudders were actively used to maintain airplane direction. As the tail came down, the left wing came up, veering the airplane to the right. Left rudder was used to compensate. As the left wing came down the right wing started to rise and right rudder was used to compensate. As the airplane rapidly slowed, the tail went up and the propeller and nose cowling contacted the ground causing the plane to flip over on its back." Additionally, the pilot stated that "rapid deacceleration [sic] was due to unintentional use of the brakes" and that there was no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration's Renton Flight Standards District office examined the aircraft and found no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft's brake system. The surface aviation weather observation taken at the Tacoma Narrows airport at 1204 Pacific daylight time, reported winds of 10 knots from 010 degrees magnetic. Approximately one hour previous, the winds were reported as 9 knots, gusting to 15 from 020 degrees magnetic. These same winds existed approximately one hour after the accident but with no reported gusts. Gusty wind conditions were reported several hours after the accident (refer to ATTACHMENT W-I). The pilot-in-command reported that as the tailwheel of his Stinson came down after touchdown on runway 35, the left wing came up and the aircraft began to diverge to the right. He used left rudder to compensate; the left wing came down and the right wing began to rise. As the airplane rapidly slowed, the aircraft nosed over. The pilot reported that the rapid deceleration was due to unintentional use of the brakes' and that there was no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft. This was confirmed by an FAA inspector. Surface winds at the airport several minutes after the accident were reported as 10 knots from 010 degrees magnetic, and gusty wind conditions were reported before and after the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12