# NTSB DEN02LA020: Maule M-5-235C, N382X, Grand Junction, CO, January 13, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 13, 2002, 15:15 local (22:15 UTC) - Place: Grand Junction, CO - Coordinates: 39.122222, -108.527778 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1222&lon=-108.5278&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 16, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 54036 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN02LA020 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54036/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54036 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA020 ## 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. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, landing - roll - landing gear,tailwheel - disconnected (cause) - aircraft control - not possible, pilot in command (contributing factor) - landing gear,steering system - failure (cause) - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis 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. ## Factual narrative 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. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N382X](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N382X), registered now, S/N 7021C, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Maule M-5-235C - Registry model: [Maule M-5-235C](https://openairdocs.org/model/maule-m-5-235c) (registry code 5460135) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 7021C - Airframe hours: 1664 - Engines: Lycoming O-540 235 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Dwain P. Watson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 15, 2001, 35 hours before - Departed: GJT, Grand Junction, CO - Airport: GJT, Walker Field, runway 29, 10,501 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2; last flight review January 17, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 1,361 total, 652 in this make and model, 1,194 as pilot in command, 36 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 16 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 43 °F, dew point 12 °F - Altimeter: 30.05 inHg - Observed at: GJT ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020113002289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020113002289A), Jan 13, 2002: Maule M5235C, Grand Junction, CO, Substantial damage. (-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… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 7, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54036. 269 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 269 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40378925&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.