Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot in command's failure to maintain proper runway alignment.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot in command had been performing touch and go landings and this was his final landing. The airplane began to drift to the west side of the runway and upon touchdown the main landing wheel caught on the edge of the runway and the airplane ground looped striking the right wing on the ground.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 29, 1993, at 2234 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 140 airplane, N1926V, registered to and operated by the Pilot in Command, drifted off the runway and ground looped during landing at the Dillingham airport, Dillingham, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed Dillingham for touch and go practice. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the Private Certificated Pilot in Command, the sole occupant, was not injured. According to the Pilot in Command, this was his final landing and the airplane drifted to the west side of the runway and upon touchdown the wheel caught on the edge of the runway and the airplane ground looped. The Pilot in Command stated there were no mechanical irregularities. -