Fri, Feb 07, 2003
Trundled Off Runway on Post-Restoration Maiden Flight
John Latta, 79, of Santa Nells (CA), was really
mad at himself after he bent his freshly-restored Stearman (file
pic, right) on Monday. The Merced Sun-Star
reported he said, "I don't like to wreck anything; I bent my
airplane and I'll have to fix it... I finally got it back together
and now it's broken."
He had been restoring the Stearman four years this time (he
bought it as parts 18 years ago), and had, after five weeks'
wrangling, finally gotten the Airworthiness Certificate. This was
its first flight, and Latta, who says he's never bent an airplane
in the 60 years he's been flying, was having a grand time with it
in the air.
On landing after an hour-long, glorious flight, the report goes,
Latta took a bounce, applied power for a go-around, and "...went
through two barbed wire fences, struck a windmill and came to rest
upside down in a small equipment yard on the ranch property."
Latta, the rancher and a 5000-hour pilot, received cuts and
scrapes.
** Report created 2/6/03 Record 2
**
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 57414
Make/Model: B75 Description: BOEING
B75N1 STEARMAN
Date: 02/04/2003 Time: 0055
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
None Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: SANTA NELLA State: CA Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT FLIPPED OVER WHILE LANDING, SANTA NELLA, CA.
INJURY DATA Total Fatal:
0
# Crew: 1 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: METAR KMCE 040053Z 28004KT 10SM CLR 13/06 A3015
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase:
Landing Operation: General
Aviation
Departed:
UNK
Dep Date: Dep. Time:
Destination: (3O1) GUSTINE,
CA Flt Plan:
UNK Wx
Briefing: U
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: SAN JOSE, CA
(WP15)
Entry date: 02/04/2003
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