Point Lookout, MO, USA
N53WE
EDSON ROBERT W PIETENPOL AIR CAMPER
On the fourth landing of a test flight, the airplane made a hard, full-stall landing and began drifting to the right. The pilot applied left rudder pedal to arrest the drift, and the airplane ground looped 180 degrees to the left. The pilot applied right rudder to stop the left swing but to no avail. The right main landing gear went off the side of the runway and down a 2-foot dropoff. The right wing tip struck the ground, breaking the wing tip and front and rear wing spars. The airplane came to rest off the side of the runway.
On the fourth landing of a test flight, the airplane made a hard, full stall landing and began drifting to the right. The pilot applied left rudder pedal to arrest the drift and the airplane ground looped 180 degrees to the left. The pilot applied right rudder to stop the left swing but to no avail. The right main landing gear went off the side of the runway and down a 2-foot drop-off. The right wing tip struck the ground, breaking the wing tip and front and rear wing spars. The aircraft came to rest off the side of the runway, pointed west down runway 30. At 0745, Branson Airport (KBBG) AWOS, located about 7 nautical miles south of Point Lookout, reported wind 310 degrees at 9 knots, with gusts to 26 knots. The pilot said that at the time of the accident, the winds were calm.
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing, resulting in a ground-loop.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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