Amateur-built Wag-A-Bond accident near Jean, Nevada, March 30, 2007
On March 30, 2007 at about 9:10 pm local time, a amateur-built Wag-A-Bond, registered N714DE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jean, Nevada (Jean 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the separation of the tail wheel and rudder assembly compression springs that resulted in a loss of directional control during the landing rollout.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 30, 2007 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Jean, Nevada · Jean · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Wag-A-Bond
- Registration
- N714DE · no longer on the register · serial 1465
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft ground looped on landing. After the tail wheel touched down during the landing rollout, it started to violently shimmy. The airplane veered to the right, and eventually ground looped after the pilot attempted to correct back to the runway with the application of the left brake. The pilot found that the compression springs for the tail wheel and rudder steering assembly were intact, but had separated from the empennage, and were found 75 feet from the airplane back along the ground track. The pilot said he had shifted some weight aft within the fuselage for flight test purposes and that this shift may have increased the moment arm and added an element of instability to the tail wheel when it contacted the runway, which allowed it to shimmy and fail.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,931 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 20,100 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7.3 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, February 1, 2007; 7.3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VGT N. Las Vegas NV at 7:07 pm
- Destination: 0L7 Jean NV
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 02L, 4,600 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from LAS, 21 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.