Luscombe 8A accident near Puyallup, Washington, February 13, 1996
On February 13, 1996 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Luscombe 8A, registered N71836, was substantially damaged in an accident near Puyallup, Washington (Pierce County-Thun Field). 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 owner's failure to comply with requirements for annual inspections of the airplane, and the debonding of the right brake lining and subsequent jamming of the lining into the right main wheel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 13, 1996 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Puyallup, Washington · Pierce County-Thun Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Luscombe 8A · all 8As on the register
- Registration
- N71836 · registry record · serial 3263
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot stated that while preparing to exit the runway after landing, the right wheel locked during normal brake application and the airplane subsequently nosed over when he applied left brake in an attempt to keep from ground looping. He reported that the airplane had not received an annual inspection in over 2 years. Postaccident inspection indicated that the right brake lining had debonded and wedged into the right main wheel, jamming it and preventing it from rotating. The pilot's student certificate was not signed, and his logbook contained no instructor endorsements for solo privileges.
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: student
- Flight time: 150 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 150 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,402 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 1993; 186 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,260 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A65-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Elbe WA at 5:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 3,650 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N71836 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 SEA96LA057.