Amateur-built WOODY N525AG accident near Hope, Arkansas

Probable cause

The loss of control upon landing for reasons that could not be determined.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was conducting touch-and-go landings in the homebuilt, tailwheel-equipped, experimental airplane. After a normal touchdown, the airplane veered to the left off the asphalt runway surface and ground looped as it departed the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. Postaccident examination revealed that the left main landing gear retaining mechanism was broken, but it was not clear if the damage occurred before or after the loss of control. The pilot, who was the builder of the airplane and had about 500 hours of flight time in the airplane, reported that he believed that the retaining mechanism could have broken upon landing and resulted in the ground loop. The winds were light and variable at the time of the accident. Because the damage to the landing gear retention mechanism could have occurred before or after the loss of control, the reason for the loss of control could not be determined.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN16LA271 for the full record.