Report: Failure to control landing caused plane crash that injured 1
May 24—A November airplane crash that injured one person was likely caused by failure to control the plane during landing, according to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The report, completed in March, listed the probable cause of the crash to be the failure of the pilot of the plane, Raymond Tom Hodgson, 76, of Kokomo, to "maintain directional control during the landing roll" of his homebuilt B-29 replica airplane when coming in to land around 3 p.m. Nov. 5 at Glenndale Airport southwest of Kokomo.
According to the report, Hodgson told investigators his airplane's nose landing gear encountered a depression on the airport's grass runway when landing, causing the airplane to yaw to the left and leave the runway. The airplane struck a female in a golf cart that was filming the airplane.
The woman was knocked unconscious and suffered minor injuries. Hodgson was not injured. The airplane suffered "substantial damage" to both wings.
No mechanical failures or malfunctions were reported.
Hodgson, according to the report, has 20,000 total flight time hours and one hour of total flight time in the replica B-29. In fact, a video uploaded to YouTube by the channel "rv6eguy" notes that Nov. 5, 2023, was the airplane's first flight.
According to the YouTube channel, Hodgson has spent the last several years homebuilding almost every aspect of the 35% replica B-29, which is powered by Honda engines.
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Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.
