NTSB Factual Report

On August 21, 2001, at 1920 central daylight time, an amateur-built Hoskins Quickie Q2, N202SH, owned and piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing on runway 18R (3,498 feet by 60 feet, asphalt), at the Southern Illinois Airport, Carbondale, Illinois. The airplane went off the right side of the runway and the left canard/landing gear was broken. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions and was not on a flight plan. The pilot and his one passenger reported no injuries. The local flight originated about 1800.

The airplane is an amateur-built aircraft utilizing a canard configuration. The landing gear consists of two main wheels incorporated into the tips of the forward canard surface and a tail-wheel attached to the aft fuselage.

A postaccident examination of the aircraft revealed that the fiberglass tail-wheel spring had fractured just forward of the tailwheel swivel assembly. The rudder cables were routed from the rudder pedals to the tail-wheel swivel assembly and two separate cables ran from the tail-wheel swivel assembly to the rudder itself. No other anomalies were found that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

NTSB Probable Cause

The failure of the tailwheel spring. A factor was the directional control not possible by the pilot.