Aerotek PITTS S-1T N49309 accident near Billings, Montana

Probable cause

The pilot’s inability to maintain directional control during the landing roll because of the failure of the tailwheel support bracket.

NTSB analysis

After completing a personal flight, the pilot was returning to his home airport. He stated that on the first landing attempt, he was not able to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, and he aborted the landing. On the second landing attempt, he again was not able to maintain directional control and subsequently realized that there was not enough remaining runway for him to successfully abort the landing. The airplane departed the runway surface and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the weld that attached the tailwheel tube to the fuselage had separated. This would have allowed for the tailwheel assembly to freely move left and right without corresponding rudder input, and thus the pilot would not be able to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR13LA063 for the full record.