- Date
- August 20, 2015, 13:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N944LBStinson L 5E
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA Scottsdale FSDO
- FAA report
- 20150820019969A
- Case key
- 91921
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, resulting in a runway excursion and a collision with an object.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during the landing roll, the airplane "went into a ground loop with the nose of the aircraft pointing to the right." He stated that the airplane departed the runway to the right and impacted a runway sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the landing roll, the airplane "went into a ground loop with the nose of the aircraft pointing to the right." He stated that the airplane departed the runway to the right and impacted a runway sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N944LB
- Reported as
- Stinson L 5E (E)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 76-2970
- Built
- 1944
- Airframe hours
- 2,666.4
- Engine
- Lycoming O-435A/O-435C, 185 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Davis Wesley B.
- Registered owner
- Davis Wesley B.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 5, 2015
- Departed
- GEU · Glendale, AZ
- Destination
- TUS · Tucson, AZ
- Airport
- TUS · Tucson Intl, runway 11L, 10,996 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 3, 2014
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,700 total · 3,700 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 99 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KTUS, 1 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 29, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.