# NTSB LAX06CA083: Piper J5, N35588, Carefree, AZ, January 27, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: January 27, 2006, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Carefree, AZ - Coordinates: 33.934444, -112.508613 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9344&lon=-112.5086&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 30, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 63062 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06CA083 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63062/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06CA083 ## Probable cause the pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for the precautionary landing and failure to avoid obstacles during the landing roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - other (contributing factor) - maneuver to avoid obstructions - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The airplane struck a log during landing rollout in a dry riverbed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was notified that an airplane had been seen in a dry riverbed. FAA inspectors went to the site the next day and found the airplane in the riverbed with a collapsed right landing gear strut. They found tracks in a straight line from the touchdown point to the impact point with no indications of a turn. The pilot said he made a precautionary landing in the dry riverbed to troubleshoot engine problems. ## Factual narrative On January 27, 2006, about 1330 mountain standard time, a Piper J5 Cub, N35588, struck a log in a dry riverbed during landing rollout near Carefree, Arizona. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Wickenburg, Arizona, about 1230, with a planned destination of Carefree, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. Inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were notified of an airplane in a dry riverbed on January 30, 2006. They arrived on scene the next day and found the airplane with damage to the right landing gear, aileron, and wing tip. They noted tracks in the ground that led from the initial touchdown point to the impact point with the log. They extended about 400 feet in a straight line and gave no indications of a turn. The inspectors contacted the pilot/owner of the aircraft and instructed him to contact the National Transportation Safety Board to report the accident. The pilot submitted an accident report several weeks later. In a written statement to the Safety Board, the pilot said the airplane's engine began to miss in flight. He made a precautionary landing in the riverbed after attempts to correct the problem while airborne were unsuccessful. He adjusted the mixture, checked the magnetos, and the engine smoothed out. While taxiing the pilot made a 180-degree turn when the right gear struck a log, buckling the right landing gear strut and rendering the aircraft inoperable. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N35588](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N35588-2025-08-26), registration cancelled 2025-08-26, S/N 5-686, built 1941 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper J5 - Registry model: [Piper J5A](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-j5a) (registry code 7100702) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 5-686 - Engines: Lycoming O-235 135 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: David Alan Anderson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 1, 2005, 165 hours before - Departed: E25, Wickenburg, AZ - Destination: 18AZ, Carefree, AZ ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; last flight review December 1, 2005; seat: front; flight hours: 160 total, 58 in this make and model, 75 as pilot in command, 15 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.01 inHg ## 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 20060127001919A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060127001919A), Jan 27, 2006: Piper J5A, Horseshoe Reser, AZ, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot [privacy data omitted] made an off airport land approximately 5 nautical miles north of Horseshoe dam on or about January 30, 2006. The right… 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.