NTSB Factual Report

On October 29, 2014, about 1620 eastern daylight time, a Curtiss P40B airplane, N284CF, was substantially damaged during an attempted landing at New Smyrna Beach Airport (EVB), New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which departed from EVB about 1525. The airplane test flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot, the airplane had been recently disassembled and transported from the United Kingdom to the United States where it was reassembled. On the day of the accident flight, which was also the airplane's second flight since it was reassembled, the pilot flew in the vicinity of EVB for about an hour before returning to the airport to land. Although the winds favored runway 07 at the time, the pilot elected to land on runway 02 to reduce taxi time to parking. During the landing, the airplane touched down in a three-point attitude and the tail wheel "shimmied" as the airplane began to turn to the right. The pilot attempted to arrest the turn with left rudder and left brake inputs; however, the airplane ground looped, resulting in the collapse of the main landing gear.

During a follow-up telephone conversation, the pilot reported that all the flight controls felt "normal" during the ground roll. The pilot stated that "response to rudder/tailwheel steering was inadequate to arrest a directional swing" into the wind and the application of left brake produced no noticeable braking action. The pilot had about 40 hours of total time in the accident airplane make and model; of which, about 1.2 hours had been accumulated within the 30 days prior to the accident. Prior to the most recent flight experience, the pilot had not piloted an airplane of the same make and model for about 4 years preceding the accident.

According to the pilot, a mechanic had verified that the rudder cables were "good and taught" prior to the second flight.

An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the accident site and inspected the wreckage. She reported that the airplane had ground looped, which resulted in substantial damage to the lower fuselage and left wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane rudder control system revealed no mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded or limited directional control of the airplane during landing.

The 1623 special weather observation at EVB, included wind from 070 degrees at 7 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, scattered clouds 5,500 feet, temperature 28 degrees C, dew point 17 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.02 inches of mercury. According to the pilot, the wind, around the time of the accident, was from 060 degrees at 9 knots.

According to an NTSB weather study, at the time of the accident there was a sea breeze moving across the airport that included about 15 knot winds above the surface.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while landing with a crosswind, which resulted in a ground loop and a subsequent runway excursion.