# Accident 20020113002289A: Maule M5235C, Grand Junction, CO, January 13, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 13, 2002, 14:12 local time
- Place: Grand Junction, CO
- Airport: Walker Field
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Touch And Go Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.1222° N, 108.5278° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1222&lon=-108.5278&mi=10
- Aircraft: N382X, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N382X) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Maule M-5-235C (registry code 5460135, https://openairdocs.org/model/maule-m-5-235c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MAULE M5235C
- Reported engine: LYC O540*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,356 total, 650 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN02LA020](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA020) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020113002289A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) PILOT WAS DOING A SERIES OF TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS AT GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO WHEN LEFT RUDDER CABLE SEPARATED FROM THE SWEDGED END FITTING. THE PILOT APPLIED PRESSURE TO RUDDER DURING LANDING. PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE AIRCRAFT GROUND LOOPED DAMAGING LEFT WING, WING STRUT, MAIN GEAR AND TAIL WHEEL. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT, AND NO PASSENGERS WERE ON BOARD. (.4) ON JANUARY 13, 2002, AT APPROXIMATELY 1515 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A MAULE M-5-235C, N382X, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A GROUND LOOP ON LANDING ROLL AT GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT IN THE AIRPLANE, WAS NOT INJURED. THE PILOT WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT WHICH HAD ORIGINATED APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT HAD NOT FILED A FLIGHT PLAN. THE PILOT SAID THAT DURING A TOUCH AND GO LANDING, HE HEARD A "BANG." THE LEFT RUDDER PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, AND THE AIRPLANE GROUND LOOPED TO THE RIGHT. THE LEFT WING WAS BENT UP FOR THE OUTBOARD 12 FEET OF THE WING. POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE                                                                    AIRPLANE'S LEFT TAIL WHEEL STEERING CABLE REVEALED THAT A SWAGED ATTACHMENT HAD SEPARATED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN02LA020](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA020), Jan 13, 2002: Maule M-5-235C (N382X), Grand Junction, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the failure of the tail wheel left steering cable. A contributing factor was the pilot's loss of aircraft control (not possible) and the subsequent inadvertent ground loop.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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