Boeing B75N1 accident near Arlington, Virginia, June 8, 2010
On June 8, 2010 at about 2:19 pm local time, a Boeing B75N1, registered N27WE, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Arlington, Virginia (Reagan National airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s inadvertent use of the wheel brakes at high speed during the touchdown phase of the landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of familiarity with the feel and effectiveness of the airplane’s wheel brakes.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 2010 · about 2:19 pm local time
- Place
- Arlington, Virginia · Reagan National · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing B75N1 · all B75N1s on the register
- Registration
- N27WE · registry record · serial 75-6651
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, as he entered the flare to land at an airspeed of about 70 miles per hour, he planned to keep the airplane’s tail in the air and roll farther down the runway to allow more room for the following airplanes in his formation. He stated that, when the wheels touched the runway, he inadvertently applied the wheel brakes via the rudder pedals, which was evident by the skid marks found on the runway. (Pressing forward on the tops of the rudder pedals activates the main wheel brakes.) The pilot’s use of the brakes while touching down at high speed in this type of airplane, which has a high center of gravity and a tail wheel, caused it to flip over onto the top wing and the vertical stabilizer and rudder. Although the pilot had 875 total flight hours, including 190 hours in Stearman airplanes, he stated that he had seldom used the brakes in over 600 landings in the accident airplane. Therefore, the pilot was not familiar with the feel and effectiveness of the airplane’s wheel brakes.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Nose over/nose down during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- factor Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Total experience w/ equipment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 875 hours in all; 190 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 785 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 3, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,388 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming R-680-13 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HEF Manassas VA at 1:45 pm
- Destination: DCA Arlington VA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 01, 6,869 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 15 knots
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N27WE the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DCA10FA066.