| Crash location | 32.471667°N, 100.469167°W |
| Nearest city | Sweetwater, TX
32.470952°N, 100.405938°W 3.7 miles away |
| Tail number | N82912 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 18 Aug 2017 |
| Aircraft type | Piper Pa 18-150 |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 18, 2017, about 1145 central daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N82912, was substantially damaged while landing at Avenger Field Airport (SWW), Sweetwater, Texas. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a public aircraft. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the positioning flight, which departed Winston Field Airport (SNK), Snyder, Texas, about 1120.
The pilot reported that the right main landing gear collapsed as he made a crosswind wheels-landing on runway 17 (5,840 ft by 100 ft, asphalt). He stated that he felt a "little bump" shortly after the airplane touched down on the right main landing gear, and the airplane began to swerve to the left. The pilot reported that he was unable to regain directional control with full right rudder and right brake inputs. The airplane continued to swerve left, departed the left side of the runway, and encountered soft terrain where the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, main wing spars, and right elevator.