Piper PA-18-150 accident near Deland, Florida, October 15, 2011
On October 15, 2011 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N929SC, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Deland, Florida (Deland Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 inadequate directional control during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 2011 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Deland, Florida · Deland Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N929SC · registry record · serial 18-7909002
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was practicing a three point landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane when the airplane veered to the left after touchdown. The pilot stated that when he tried to correct to the right, he heard an abnormal noise from the tailwheel, and the tailwheel locked. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane had exited the right side of the runway, hit a taxiway sign, traveled 50 more yards, and nosed over. Examination of the airplane revealed that the fabric was torn in numerous places, the propeller was broken, the forward left wing strut was bent, the right landing gear was broken and bent up under the fuselage, and the fuselage was twisted. The examination revealed no evidence of any preimpact failure or malfunction of the flight controls; the tailwheel moved freely to the left and right with rudder pedal application, and no binding was noted.
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
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 654 hours in all; 141 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days; 575 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 16, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,722 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2011
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DED Deland FL at 10:20 pm
- Destination: DED Deland FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 05, 4,301 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from DAB, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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 N929SC 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 ERA12CA037.