Amateur-built WITTMAN W-10 accident near Stevensville, Montana, March 28, 2017
On March 28, 2017 at about 10:30 pm local time, a 2015 amateur-built WITTMAN W-10, registered N13XZ, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Stevensville, Montana (Stevensville 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 decision to take off with a known master brake cylinder leak and his subsequent failure to maintain directional control during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 28, 2017 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Stevensville, Montana · Stevensville · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built WITTMAN W-10 NO SERIES, built 2015
- Registration
- N13XZ · registry record · serial 975
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, after landing at an airport along his route, he observed a leak from the left master brake cylinder. He added that he "wiped up [a] considerable [amount of] brake fluid from the floorboard," conducted a "thorough inspection" of the left brake, and then departed for another airport. He further reported that, during the landing roll, the airplane weathervaned into the crosswind, and he applied "full rudder and [the] application of brake found no brake available." He added that, after pumping the brakes, they began to function. The airplane veered off the runway to the right, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
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
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- Loss of control on ground during landing defining event
- Runway excursion during landing
- Landing gear collapse during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Master cylinder/brake valve › Malfunction
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,125.9 hours in all; 49 in this make and model; 43.9 in the last 90 days; 2.1 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: June 22, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 46 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, February 13, 2017
- Maximum gross weight: 2,386 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 2,379 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 23S Seeley Lake MT at 10:00 pm
- Destination: 32S Stevensville MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 3,800 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from KMSO, 24 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.
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 GAA17CA212.