ANC97LA119

The pilot's excessive descent rate during a touch-and-go landing, which resulted in damage to the landing gear and inability to control the airplane during a subsequent landing. A factor was his lack of total experience in tailwheel-equipped airplanes.

While performing practice landings, the pilot reported the airplane 'hit hard, I heard a loud snap, and did a go around.' A pilot in another airplane visually confirmed damage to the right main landing gear and tailwheel. The airplane was flown to its home base. A power-off landing was performed, the airplane ground looped and departed the right side of the runway, damaging the right wingtip and a runway light.

On August 10, 1997 at 2145 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Taylorcraft TC-19 airplane, N3560T, sustained substantial damage when it ground looped on landing at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska. The private pilot was uninjured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a local, personal flight, from Merrill Field. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that he departed Merrill Field at 2030 for landings at Goose Bay, Alaska, and New Wasilla, Alaska. During touch and go landings at New Wasilla, the pilot said the airplane "hit hard, I heard a loud snap, and did a go around." A pilot in another airplane visually confirmed that landing gear damage existed to the right gear leg and tailwheel. The airplane was flown to Merrill Field, and ground looped during landing on the 3,999 long by 100 feet wide asphalt runway, damaging the right wingtip, the right aileron, and a runway light. The pilot was first endorsed for flight in tailwheel airplanes on May 8, 1997. He purchased the accident airplane in Arizona on May 18, 1997. He completed the ferry flight to Anchorage on July 16, 1997. This was the third flight in the airplane since completion of the ferry trip. He had a total of 57 hours and 34 landings in this airplane. He had eight prior training flights in tailwheel airplanes. -